Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

truly

/ˈtɹuːli/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.87 in modern English

Syllables: tru-ly
IPA: /ˈtɹuːli/

8

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

In accordance with the facts; truthfully, accurately.

adv

Honestly, genuinely, in fact, really.

adv

Very.

Example Sentences

"He adds, very truly, that what was fatal to such philosophies as his was not Christianity but the Copernican theory."
"That is truly all I know."
"Truly, that is all I know."
"You are truly silly."
"I’m distantly related to the truly great writer, Chaim Potok, which for a magazine editor seems like a good thing."

Etymology

From Middle English truely, treuly, treuli, trewely, treoweliche, treowliche, from Old English trēowlīċe (“faithfully; truly”), equivalent to true + -ly. Cognate with Dutch trouwelijk, Middle Low German truwlike, German treulich, Swedish trolig, Icelandic trygglega.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: truely, trēowlīċe

Inflected Forms

trulier (comparative) more truly (comparative) truliest (superlative) most truly (superlative) trooly (alternative, obsolete) truely (alternative, archaic) trully (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

untruly

Phrases

really truly truly yours well and truly yours truly

Synonyms

frankly sincerely in point of fact literally extremely exceedingly genuinely really

Rhymes With

newly julie duly unruly unduly cruelly dooley cooley coolly bernoulli lazuli coulee

Questions

How do you pronounce truly?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɹuːli/.
What does truly mean?: In accordance with the facts; truthfully, accurately.
Where does truly come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce truly

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “truly”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈtɹuːli/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “truly”.
Repeat and practice — Say “truly” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.