honestly
hon·est·ly/ˈɑ.nɪst.li/adverb, interjection
honestly is spelled H-O-N-E-S-T-L-Y, 3 syllables: hon·est·ly. The wrong spelling people search most is honestley: about 10 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 68 of all searches for the word. Honestly is an adverb meaning “In an honest manner”.
How many letters and syllables are in honestly?
| Letters | 8: H-O-N-E-S-T-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: hon·est·ly |
| In writing | 49 times per million words; the 2,072nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, honestley, about 10 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell honestly?
Honestly is spelled H-O-N-E-S-T-L-Y. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 68 of the searches for honestly in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is honestly?
Honestly appears 49 times per million words in written English, the 2,072nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce honestly?
- UK /ˈɒn.ɪst.li/
- US /ˈɑ.nɪst.li/
- US /ˈɑ.nəst.li/
Honestly has 3 syllables, split hon·est·ly in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-honestly.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-honestly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of honestly
- more honestly comparative
- most honestly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does honestly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In an honest manner.
He answered the questions honestly.
- 2
Frankly, to be honest.
Honestly, I didn't believe a word she said.
- 3
informalExpresses mild surprise or hesitation about one's own conclusion.
interjection
- 1
Used to express exasperation, dismay, etc.
Honestly! I want to finish this work and you keep interrupting.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Honestly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | honnêtement, franchement , pour être honnête |
| German | ehrlich |
| Portuguese | honestamente , para ser honesto |
| Spanish | honestamente, francamente , para ser honesto, si me apuras |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does honestly come from?
From Middle English honestly, honestlyche, honestliche, equivalent to honest + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).