HONESTLY

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

In an honest manner

Example:

was known for dealing aboveboard in everything

Synonyms:

aboveboard; honestly

Classified under:

Adverbs

Antonym:

dishonestly (in a corrupt and deceitful manner)

Pertainym:

honest (not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(used as intensives reflecting the speaker's attitude) it is sincerely the case that

Example:

frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn

Synonyms:

candidly; frankly; honestly

Classified under:

Adverbs

Domain usage:

intensifier; intensive (a modifier that has little meaning except to intensify the meaning it modifies)

Pertainym:

honest (without dissimulation; frank)

Credits

Context examples:

Mrs. Harker gave us a cup of tea, and I can honestly say that, for the first time since I have lived in it, this old house seemed like home.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“But I never thought so, before. Sincerely, honestly, indeed, Mr. Spenlow, I never thought so, before. I love Miss Spenlow to that extent—”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Our young friend here hath very fairly and honestly earned his right to be craftsman of the Honorable Guild of the Squires of Bordeaux.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They were a new kind of men to Buck (of which he was destined to see many more), and while he developed no affection for them, he none the less grew honestly to respect them.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

"Never ironed a rag in my life, honestly, until to-day," Martin protested.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I doubt that he has ever lived so swiftly and keenly before, and I honestly envy him, sometimes, when I see him raging at the summit of passion and sensibility.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Tell me honestly"—a deeper glow overspreading his cheeks—"do you think me most a knave or a fool?

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

I do not require you to adopt all my suspicions, though you make so noble a profession of doing it, but I honestly tell you what they are.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

It was one of the irons I began to heat immediately, and one of the irons I kept hot, and hammered at, with a perseverance I may honestly admire.