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.
Around 2015 and 2016, machine translation started becoming genuinely good, almost perfect in some language pairs.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Gregory said Rothamsted's founders were "genuinely forward thinking" because they kept crop and soil samples.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Drapatiy genuinely despises the Soviet legacy in all its forms,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
“I’m genuinely glad to see organizations at the national level addressing this gap,” said Samara Tricarico, co-founder of the non-profit Endurant Movement, which works with neurodivergent youth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
A score of genuinely brilliant military leaders who also confronted a superior enemy force—Hannibal, Robert E. Lee, and Napoleon come to mind—were eventually defeated because they presumed that victory meant winning battles.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
