thankfully
Britishadverb
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showing gratitude or appreciation
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informal fortunately
thankfully she was not injured
Usage
The use of thankfully to mean fortunately was formerly considered incorrect by many people, but has now become acceptable in informal contexts
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.
Thompson, thankfully, doesn’t act like a famous person.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
The other moment where West loses his composure is in recalling the 1991 HIV diagnosis of Mr. Johnson, who, thankfully, contributes much here.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
But thankfully, that’s not what we are seeing today, even with surging oil prices and a softening labor market.
From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026
A SoCal hiker said she thankfully remembered what to do when she encountered the puma — yelling, facing the cat, trying to look big — until it ran off.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
He looked back at Felix, who, thankfully, was still deciding what he wanted.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
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.
