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.
The rest of the world, thankfully, has stopped listening.
From Salon • May 16, 2026
"Everyone was quickly rescued and, thankfully, is safe and sound," she added in a post on Facebook.
From BBC • Apr. 30, 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
We’ve had an unusually warm start to the year in Southern California, which typically signals that we’ll be roasting at Coachella, but things have thankfully cooled off a little.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
“I don’t understand,” she said, drawing nearer to Shilling, who was, thankfully, still a wolf dog.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
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.
