sincere
sin·cere/sɪnˈsɪɹ/adjective
sincere is spelled S-I-N-C-E-R-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (sin·cere). It appears 6.9 times per million words in written English, the 9,045th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Sincere, the name). As an adjective, sincere means “Genuine, honest, and free from pretense or deceit; heartfelt” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sincere?
| Letters | 7: S-I-N-C-E-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: sin·cere |
| In writing | 6.9 times per million words; the 9,045th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sincere?
Sincere appears 6.9 times per million words in written English, the 9,045th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Sincere, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sincere?
- UK /sɪnˈsɪə(ɹ)/
- US /sɪnˈsɪɹ/
Sincere has 2 syllables, split sin·cere in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sincere.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sincere?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sincere from its last stressed vowel (/ɪɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sincere
- more sincere comparative
- sincerer comparative
- most sincere superlative
- sincerest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sincere mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Genuine, honest, and free from pretense or deceit; heartfelt.
I believe he is sincere in his offer to help.
- 2
Meant truly or earnestly.
She gave it a sincere if misguided effort.
- 3
archaicClean; pure.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sincere in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense earnest:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sincère |
| German | aufrichtig |
| Portuguese | sincero |
| Spanish | sincero |
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 sincere come from?
From Middle French sincere, from Latin sincerus (“genuine”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“together”) (whence English sam) + *ḱer- (“grow”) (whence Latin Ceres, the goddess of harvest, etymon of cereal). Not from sine (“without”) + cera (“wax”), which is a folk etymology; see Wikipedia page.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).