really

[ ree-uh-lee, ree-lee ]

adverb

1. in reality; actually:

   to see things as they really are.

2. genuinely or truly:

   a really honest man.

3. indeed:

   Really, this is too much.

interjection

1. (used to express surprise, exasperation, etc.)

really

/ ˈrɪəlɪ /

adverb

1. in reality; in actuality; assuredly

   it's really quite harmless

2. truly; genuinely

   really beautiful

interjection

1. an exclamation of dismay, disapproval, doubt, surprise, etc
2. not really?
   not really? an exclamation of surprise or polite doubt

Usage

See very

Word History and Origins

Origin of really¹

First recorded in 1400–50; real ¹( def ) + -ly ( def )

Example Sentences

Really, is it any wonder that fluoride should freak people out?

From The Daily Beast

How far has Congress really evolved on race when in 50 years it has gone from one black senator to two?

From The Daily Beast

With Charlie Hebdo, “you really have a clean case here,” Shearer said.

From The Daily Beast

To do so is to deify a celebrity for being what we need them to be, while willfully ignoring who they really are.

From The Daily Beast

It is a spy series at its core, but you guys never really pull from the headlines.

From The Daily Beast

Was he really condemned to an eternal solitude because of the girl who had died so many years ago?

From Project Gutenberg

The "new world" was really found in the wonder-years of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

From Project Gutenberg

She stood, in her young purity, at one end of the chain of years, and Mrs. Chepstow—did she really stand at the other?

From Project Gutenberg

His enemies persistently insinuated that he was really returning to Spain to support the clericals actively.

From Project Gutenberg

Really, he had made astonishing speed for one who had tunnelled his way underp.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• absolutely
• actually
• certainly
• easily
• genuinely
• honestly
• indeed
• legitimately
• literally
• surely
• truly
• undoubtedly
• unquestionably
• well