genuinely

Meanings

1. 1adverbnot comparable

   In a sincere and honest way; truly meaning what you say or feel.

   Grammar: Goes before the verb or adjective it strengthens: genuinely sorry.

   Patterns

   • genuinely + adjective
   • genuinely + verb

   I was genuinely sorry to hear the news.

   She genuinely cares about her students.

   He genuinely believed the story was true.

2. 2adverbnot comparableinformal

   Really, used to emphasize that something is a fact.

   Grammar: Used as an intensifier, mostly in speech and informal writing.

   Patterns

   • genuinely surprised
   • genuinely impressive

   The view from the top was genuinely stunning.

   I genuinely have no idea where the keys are.

Common combinations

genuinely surprised

I was genuinely surprised by the result.

genuinely interested

He is genuinely interested in your opinion.

genuinely sorry

She was genuinely sorry about the mistake.

genuinely believe

They genuinely believe the plan will work.

genuinely happy

He looked genuinely happy to see us.

Synonyms and how they differ

sincerely

Sincerely stresses honest feeling, and is common in letters, whereas genuinely can strengthen any adjective.

truly

Truly is a bit more emotional and general, while genuinely has an authentic, not-faked flavor.

honestly

Honestly often introduces a frank statement, and genuinely describes the quality of a feeling.

Opposites

Word family

genuine adjective

real, authentic or sincere

genuineness noun

the quality of being authentic or sincere

ingenuous adjective

innocent and open, a distant relative in spelling only

Commonly confused: genuinely or genially?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “genuinely”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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