sincerely

[ sin-seer-lee ]

adverb

1. in a way that is genuine, earnest, or truthful:

   We sincerely hope you can accept our apology.

2. a conventional term used at the end of a letter:

   Sincerely, Mrs. Rose McNair.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sincerely¹

First recorded in 1560–70; sincere ( def ) + -ly ( def ); sincerely def 2 recorded in 1700–05

Example Sentences

I sincerely apologize and I fully understand why these safety precautions are so important.

From Washington Post

Perhaps it has become devalued now that many use “Best wishes,” or just “Best,” instead of “Yours sincerely” or “Yours truly” to close letters.

From Washington Post

Yet the same people who are deeply and sincerely concerned about the cost of housing often oppose policies that would reduce those costs because it does not fit with their nostalgic view of what types of housing should be affordable.

From Voice of San Diego

My colleagues and I sincerely hope that this is not the case – rather, that the emergence of autoantibodies in these patients is a red herring, a quirk of a viral immune response in some patients that will resolve on its own.

From No Straight News

I sincerely hope these questions will encourage San Diegans to read and understand the fine print of these proposals, beyond the shiny renderings.

From Voice of San Diego

The best that can be said for these budding radicals is that at least they sincerely hate the thing they so viciously attack.

From The Daily Beast

Why do they sincerely try to restore, or preserve, the line between the two, and get heartbroken when the line fails?

From The Daily Beast

But Brown sincerely believes all our pain is self-inflicted.

From The Daily Beast

Others are clinicians, sincerely interested in anything that can help their clients stop suffering.

From The Daily Beast

It's a considerable compliment to both men that they could sincerely like, and sincerely dislike, each other--yet coexist.

From The Daily Beast

If you throw away this chance, you will both richly deserve to be hanged, as I sincerely trust you will be.

From Project Gutenberg

Nobody else wanted Hugh Egerton's society, and he began to believe that this girl sincerely did want it.

From Project Gutenberg

It is sincerely to be hoped that a little later we shall have a continuation of the work from Mr. Withers' pen.

From Project Gutenberg

His directors esteemed him highly, and the officers of the company were all sincerely attached to him.

From Project Gutenberg

No Briton rejoiced more sincerely than this provincial American in the extension of the Empire.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• candidly
• deeply
• earnestly
• genuinely
• naturally
• profoundly
• really
• truly
• truthfully
• wholeheartedly

How Do You Spell Sincerely?

Spelling tips for sincerely

The word sincerely is hard to spell because many often miss the second e, as in sincerly, or they include it in the wrong place, as in sincerley. Also, sometimes people may be confused about whether and where the s and c go, as in sinserely or cinserely. 

How to spell sincerely: The easiest way to remember how to spell sincerely is to start with the adjective sincere. This helps you include the second e in the right place, as sincer would be pronounced quite differently than sincere. Then, you turn sincere into an adverb by adding the typical adverb-forming suffix -ly, resulting in sincerely. To help you remember that sincerely has an s and then a c, keep in mind the phrase “sincere scout.” Scout uses an s followed by a c, just like sincere.