genuinely
Americanadverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of genuinely
Explanation
The adverb genuinely describes something done in a way that's real and true. If your friend is genuinely thrilled about your plan to backpack across China next summer, she means it. When you say something genuinely, you're honest. If you're genuinely worried about your friend getting hurt on her motorcycle, you'll beg her to wear a helmet. One theory about the origin of genuinely is that it comes from the Latin word for "knee," genu, referencing a custom of a father acknowledging his paternity by holding his baby on his knee.
Vocabulary lists containing genuinely
A Monster Calls
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Copper Sun
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"The Hunger Games" Vocabulary from Chapter 3
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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.
I can tell that Piker is genuinely thrilled.
From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026
Even as experimental support for altermagnetism accumulated, researchers still needed a decisive way to establish that it represented a genuinely distinct magnetic phase.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
Most want encampments gone for good, and not by locking people up or punishing them for being poor, but by genuinely helping them to be better.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
"Maya's gain is subtler: she can emerge looking less like the presenter of Love Island and more like a genuinely versatile television star," she says.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
The only rule was: you had to pick something you genuinely wanted to read, even if there was something else you had to read for school later.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
