Honestly

How to spell honestly

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce honestly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does honestly mean?

1. adverbIn a truthful, sincere or fair manner; without lying or cheating.
2. adverbUsed to emphasise or stress the sincerity of a statement, often meaning 'frankly' or 'really'.

Honestly in a sentence

• She answered every interview question honestly and calmly.

• Honestly, the new commute is far easier than the old one.

• The auditor reported the figures honestly, even the unflattering ones.

• The food at that diner is honestly the best in town.

Where does honestly come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin honestus, an adjective meaning 'honourable', 'respectable' or 'worthy of esteem', which was built on honos (also spelled honor), the noun for honour or public regard. It travelled into English through Old French honeste during the 1300s, at first carrying the broader sense of being decent and respectable rather than the narrow modern idea of telling the truth. The adverb form was made in English by attaching the native ending -ly to the adjective honest. The silent initial 'h' is the classic spelling trap: it was dropped in the Old French pronunciation and stayed mute in English, even though we faithfully keep writing it. Modern speakers also use honestly as a way of stressing sincerity, which is a softened echo of the word's older link to genuine, upstanding character.

How the word is built

• hon- (from Latin honestus: honourable, respectable)
• -est (root core)
• -ly (adverb suffix)