truly
Americanadverb
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in accordance with fact or truth; truthfully.
Whatever his faults, he lived a life that can be truly said to be significant.
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legitimately; by right.
Those assets and properties are no longer truly his.
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We're truly sorry for the delay.
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to the fullest extent or degree.
The property should be viewed to truly appreciate all it has to offer.
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to a great extent or degree.
The film is littered with some truly dreadful sequences.
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sincerely (a conventional term used at the end of a letter).
Yours truly, Allan Burns.
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exactly; accurately; correctly.
The clock runs truly.
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To truly worship God, we must know Him and not be ignorant of His glorious nature.
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indeed; without doubt; verily.
Truly, she is a fair-haired angel.
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Archaic. faithfully; loyally.
adverb
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in a true, just, or faithful manner
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(intensifier)
a truly great man
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indeed; really
Etymology
Origin of truly
First recorded before 1000; Middle English treuli, Old English trēowlīce; tru(e) + -ly ( def. )
Explanation
Truly is an adverb that means "in truth" or "really." You would say, "That is truly beautiful" or "It was truly a beautiful wedding." When you're truly sick, you're really sick. When you're truly sorry, you're sincerely sorry. A truly odd story is extremely strange or bizarre. A truly scary movie is terrifying. This word has to do with things that are actually or absolutely so. It's also used as a closing in letters. Instead of "Sincerely" or "Sincerely yours," many people write, "Yours truly" or "Very truly yours." The idea is: "I really mean this; you can trust me."
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.
Edward Hopper is known for his depictions of New York, but his first truly individual paintings were Paris cityscapes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
“I found the people of Nashville to be great fun and truly kind hearted—good people as a whole,” she said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
I found quite a bit of sovereignty in that, knowing that I truly don’t need anyone else to to be happy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
If reality truly is nothing more than a hallucination, dream or computer screensaver in the brain, why should we waste time disputing it?
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
I found one and tried to haul myself up, only now truly comprehending the size of these trees.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
