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Synonyms

truly

American  
[troo-lee] / ˈtru li /

adverb

  1. in accordance with fact or truth; truthfully.

    Whatever his faults, he lived a life that can be truly said to be significant.

  2. legitimately; by right.

    Those assets and properties are no longer truly his.

  3. really; genuinely; honestly.

    We're truly sorry for the delay.

  4. to the fullest extent or degree.

    The property should be viewed to truly appreciate all it has to offer.

  5. to a great extent or degree.

    The film is littered with some truly dreadful sequences.

  6. sincerely (a conventional term used at the end of a letter).

    Yours truly, Allan Burns.

  7. exactly; accurately; correctly.

    The clock runs truly.

  8. rightly; properly; duly.

    To truly worship God, we must know Him and not be ignorant of His glorious nature.

  9. indeed; without doubt; verily.

    Truly, she is a fair-haired angel.

  10. Archaic. faithfully; loyally.

truly British  
/ ˈtruːlɪ /

adverb

  1. in a true, just, or faithful manner

  2. (intensifier)

    a truly great man

  3. indeed; really

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of truly

First recorded before 1000; Middle English treuli, Old English trēowlīce; tru(e) + -ly ( def. )

Explanation

Truly is an adverb that means "in truth" or "really." You would say, "That is truly beautiful" or "It was truly a beautiful wedding." When you're truly sick, you're really sick. When you're truly sorry, you're sincerely sorry. A truly odd story is extremely strange or bizarre. A truly scary movie is terrifying. This word has to do with things that are actually or absolutely so. It's also used as a closing in letters. Instead of "Sincerely" or "Sincerely yours," many people write, "Yours truly" or "Very truly yours." The idea is: "I really mean this; you can trust me."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Truly cracked engineers didn’t dirty their hands with client-facing work.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

Truly fixing the drowsy-driving problem will require a cultural shift around sleep, many of the experts tell me.

From Slate • Nov. 26, 2025

Truly, the only question he might legitimately have about his fate after shuffling off this mortal coil is which of Dante’s circles of hell he has rightfully earned.

From Salon • Nov. 23, 2025

Truly Adams of Moreno Valley is racing Formula 4 cars in France even though he’s not old enough to obtain a driver’s license in California.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2025

Truly, the always pretty Lady Constance did look unusually radiant, despite all the cake and screaming of the previous evening.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.