Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use honestly in a sentence

40 example sentences · adverb, interjection

Honestly means in an honest manner. Example: “He answered the questions honestly.”

Examples of honestly by meaning

adverbIn an honest manner.

  • He answered the questions honestly.
  • Nevertheless, you must know (if I am to speak honestly to you) that I do not repent me those dallyings in enchanted fields.1902, J. M. Barrie, The Little White Bird

adverbFrankly, to be honest.

  • Honestly, I didn't believe a word she said.
  • Under a popular Instagram post rounding up some of the most amusing memes generated from her BAFTAs performance, the actress commented on Monday, “Honestly I love this.”2023 February 21, Dan Heching, “Ariana DeBose ‘honestly loves’ the BAFTA memes but not the Twitter trolling”, in CNN, archived from the...

adverbExpresses mild surprise or hesitation about one's own conclusion.

  • Or INIA?, maybe just INIA honestly, for 29.2025 July 4, Mack Meller, 8:53 from the start, in Clabbers Clash #7: IIICanteven

interjectionUsed to express exasperation, dismay, etc.

  • Honestly! I want to finish this work and you keep interrupting.

More sentences with honestly

  • Stop texting me! It's giving "desperate", honestly.From the entry give
  • Honestly, I can't stand much more of this.From the entry much
  • “But honestly, my worst thought was she slipped and fell in the shower.2026 August 10, Nicholas Muhoro, quoting Amy Kuns, “Jodi Huisentruit, 27, Vanished From Her Apartment Parking Lot in 1995. Police Found…. From the entry cross someone's mind
  • Honestly, we're so power crept these days it will probably need a buff to see play.2024 September 9, Tim Clark, “[Destiny 2 is abandoning big annual expansions and linear campaigns in favour of more frequent releases that…. From the entry play
  • Honestly, I had to Wikipedia him, but he seems all right.2024 July 20, Ethan Meyers, quoting Isaiah White, “Trump’s return to rally stage met with prayers, excitement and confusion over JD…. From the entry wikipedia
  • Attention ladies, theydies, and honestly anyone fabulous looking to treat yourself to a classic movie makeover montage!2023 April 24, Colton Clifford, “The Ladies and Theydies Guide to Self-Care in New Orleans”, in New Orleans, archived from the original on…. From the entry theydy
  • Honestly, Gobber is more similar to his booksona than Stoick is.2023 January 6, u/me-te-mo, “after years finally was able to get it. before i start what are the differences between the books and the…. From the entry booksona
  • I honestly would read almost any character in GOT with her.2021 March 24, acequeenking (@acequeenkingpin), Twitter. From the entry little black dress
  • I think honestly some of the abilities we gave Dash may have been slightly overtuned.2019 July 17, Cass Marshall, quoting Matt Jackson, “Deathgarden: Bloodharvest is evolving again, with a new game mode and more”, in…. From the entry overtuned
  • We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity.2017 January 20, Donald Trump, “The Inaugural Address”, in The White House, archived from the original on 28 Mar 2020. From the entry openly
  • Honestly, there couldn't have been anything more than the thickness of a vest.2016, Michael McEwan (main author, maybe some other runner actually wrote this bit), Running the Smoke: 26 First-Hand Accounts of Tackling…. From the entry sprint finish
  • Purple Hawke gets all the love, and I honestly see why.2016 November 4, AntiChri5, Reddit. From the entry Purple Hawke
  • Seaton was careful not to say that he honestly agreed, which he did, low-heartedly.2013, Sumner Locke Elliott, Fairyland: Text Classics, →ISBN, page 153. From the entry low-heartedly
  • Now cronies may reve in all these kind of, honestly, "stupidisms,” yet they are really nonsense.2013, James MacDonald, Authentic: Developing the Disciplines of a Sincere Faith. From the entry stupidism
  • On a side note, my daughter (who gets it honestly from her mother) is a freeze baby.2012, Steve Barry, The Barry Patch, →ISBN, page 91. From the entry freeze baby
  • I wouldn't give the triage colors to dispatch, because, quite honestly, they don't care.2011, http://www.emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=24073&page=2. From the entry undersend
  • Honestly, I've met people that want this, even after 2 hours of discussion and understanding.2007 February 26, Simon Riggs, “COMMIT NOWAIT Performance Option”, in pgsql.hackers (Usenet). From the entry MySQLer
  • But, that technicality aside, I honestly don't want to be Henri.2006, Brian Sloan, Tale of Two Summers, page 82. From the entry slamming
  • I honestly don't know the specifics that make him tick, and I wish I did.2005, Cherie Priest, Four and Twenty Blackbirds, →ISBN, page 91. From the entry make tick
  • I still struggle sometimes, but I can honestly say that the tapes are no longer playing.2003, Constance Rhodes, Life Inside the “Thin” Cage: A Personal Look into the Hidden World of the Chronic Dieter, Colorado Springs, CO…. From the entry seconder
  • Ah, would you remind me what I pay you people for, honestly?1997, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (film). From the entry cycloptic
  • Living honestly with yourself under all circumstances is a major key in true happiness.1997, “LOCKWOOD, NATALIE”, in The National Library of Poetry, edited by Melisa S. Mitchell, Through the Looking Glass, Owings Mills, Md.…. From the entry unintention
  • There are many gay people who don't identify and who honestly are not queer.1991 February 11, Eric R. Rofes, “My Life As A Queer”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 29, page 11. From the entry queerdom
  • Louis junior could honestly say that the wines he made were sound.1990, James Conaway, Napa. From the entry hypester
  • Honestly, probably not, because I like peely paint and rotted edges.1987 November/December, P. Poore, “Ad Ethics”, in The Old-House Journal: 1987 Yearbook, Brooklyn, N.Y.: The Old-House Journal Corporation…. From the entry peely
  • Honestly, if Joseph was a drinking man I would say he’s sloppy drunk.1964, Margaret Jessup Van Briggle, chapter 19, in The High Place, Zondervan Publishing House, page 112. From the entry sloppy drunk
  • “My dear Lord is then truly and honestly rid of his fardel.”1954, Anya Seyton, Katherine. From the entry fardel
  • He had honestly tried to understand the commander, but they came from different worlds.1951, Jack Williamson, James Henry Schmitz, Astounding Science Fiction 1951-03: Volume 47, Issue 1, Penny Publications, page 130. From the entry psionic
  • Robinson can honestly do now is to take his own advice.1951 October 18, Walter Kerr, New York Herald Tribune. From the entry delusion of adequacy
  • Babbitt said he must “stop making her laugh because honestly it was hurting her incision.”1922, Sinclair Lewis, chapter XXXIII, in Babbitt, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC. From the entry incision
  • Pathetic as its passing is, one cannot honestly regret the old school.1915, Thomas Burke, “An Entertainment Night: Round the Halls”, in Nights in Town: A London Autobiography, London: George Allen & Unwin…. From the entry old school
  • But honestly, a crumb is a crumb.2025 May 16, Ellie Muir, “Rihanna divides fans after releasing new music for the first time in three years”, in The Independent, London…. From the entry it's been 84 years
  • We can't attribute this to e6 honestly.2024 September 6, u/StinkyFox621, “What's with the e6 rule change and bringing out the worst in people?”, in r/RealFurryHours, Reddit. From the entry e6
  • He says to all these people- a lot of people- I mean honestly, I'm looking, I'm seeing that's billions of people.2024 May 1, (campaign speech), spoken by Donald Trump. From the entry becocked

Meaning of honestly

  1. adverb In an honest manner.
  2. adverb Frankly, to be honest.
  3. adverb Expresses mild surprise or hesitation about one's own conclusion.

Full definition of honestly

Questions about honestly in a sentence

How do you use honestly in a sentence?
Honestly is used as an adverb and interjection. For example: “He answered the questions honestly.”
What is a short sentence with honestly?
“He answered the questions honestly.”
What does honestly mean?
Honestly means in an honest manner.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: honestly (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use honestly in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/honestly. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.