hopefully

[hohp-fuh-lee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hopefully ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb

in a hopeful manner: We worked hopefully and energetically, thinking we might finish first.

it is hoped; if all goes well: Hopefully, we will get to the show on time.

Origin of hopefully

First recorded in 1630–40; hopeful + -ly

Usage note

Although some strongly object to its use as a sentence modifier, hopefully meaning “it is hoped (that)” has been in use since the 1930s and is fully standard in all varieties of speech and writing: Hopefully, tensions between the two nations will ease. This use of hopefully is parallel to that of certainly, curiously, frankly, regrettably, and other sentence modifiers.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hopefully

surely, confidently, conceivably, positively, expectantly, sanguinely, expectedly, feasibly

Examples from the Web for hopefully

Contemporary Examples of hopefully

Leapolitan responded by saying, “hopefully youll [sic] bite into a poison apple.”
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem
David Levesley
January 9, 2015
Hopefully not overly close, but we talk about it in the episode how similar it is.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS
Marlow Stern
January 8, 2015
Hopefully, she got as much of a laugh out of it as the rest of the world has.
Slow Motion Tiger Jump, a Tornado at the Rose Bowl and More Viral Videos
The Daily Beast Video
January 4, 2015
She was gonna be in New York and wanted to hang around for New Years and hopefully be able to stay long enough to meet our baby.
Deer Tick's John McCauley on Ten Years in Rock and Roll
James Joiner
January 2, 2015
At least some people had seen the posting and failed to notify the authorities, hopefully because they had not taken it seriously.
Two Cops ‘Assassinated’ in Brooklyn
Michael Daly
December 21, 2014

Historical Examples of hopefully

It seemed an age since he walked so hopefully away from the tent.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
"The boys will surely save us," said Matilda Agnes, hopefully.
Harper's Young People, June 15, 1880
Various
He took up the one containing the mixture and regarded it hopefully.
Kent Knowles: Quahaug
Joseph C. Lincoln
"Not that I ain't seen things in my life," went on Asaph, hopefully.
Kent Knowles: Quahaug
Joseph C. Lincoln
Hopefully, he suggested, "A mirage or sort of a mutual hallucination?"
The Hohokam Dig
Theodore Pratt

British Dictionary definitions for hopefully

hopefully

adverb

in a hopeful manner

informal it is hopedhopefully they will be here soon

usage

The use of hopefully to mean it is hoped used to be considered incorrect by some people but has now become acceptable in informal contexts

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

Word Origin and History for hopefully

adv.

1630s, "in a hopeful manner," from hopeful + -ly (2). As a replacement for the admittedly awkward it is to be hoped that attested from 1932 but avoided by careful writers.