genuinely

American

[jen-yoo-in-lee] / ˈdʒɛn yu ɪn li /

adverb

in a way that is real or true; authentically, honestly, or sincerely.

We encourage children to place themselves in other people’s shoes in order to genuinely understand and empathize with their emotions.
Ada is volunteering on the campaign because she genuinely believes in the candidate’s goals.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of genuinely

genuine ( def. ) + -ly

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.

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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.

The latter measure will ensure that votes genuinely originate from the country in which they are submitted.

From BBC • May 12, 2026

“Children,” she notes in “The Well-Educated Child,” “can intuit how you feel about them,” which is “why we hired people who genuinely loved kids.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

And yes, sometimes that means recommending specialty ingredients genuinely worthy of a relative splurge: the good vanilla, candied citrus, Kewpie over the bottom-shelf mayonnaise.

From Salon • May 12, 2026

Referring to the synthetic soldier, Justine Moore, an AI-focused partner at Silicon Valley investor Andreessen Horowitz, wrote on X: "I'm genuinely floored by how many dudes are following influencers that are clearly AI."

From Barron's • May 10, 2026

She perked up like she missed us and was genuinely glad to hear my voice.

From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia

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