genuine

Bridgezipf 4.37

Pronunciation

/ˈdʒɛnjʊɪn/(JEN-yoo-in)

Part of speech

adjectiveneutral

Chinese

真诚的；真实的（真实的，非假冒的；真心诚意的）

Definition

Truly what it is said to be; not fake or pretended; sincere and honest.

Word family

  • genuinely/ˈdʒɛnjʊɪnlɪ/(adv)真诚地；真正地
  • genuineness/ˈdʒɛnjʊɪnnəs/(n)真实性

Collocations

  • genuine concern
  • genuine interest
  • genuine effort
  • genuine surprise
  • genuine commitment
  • feel genuine

Examples

  1. 1.There was genuine surprise in the room when the results were announced — no one had expected such a strong outcome.
  2. 2.The apology felt genuine rather than scripted, and it went a long way toward repairing the relationship.

Synonyms

  • authentic/ɔːˈθɛntɪk/— real, not a copy
  • sincere/sɪnˈsɪə/— truly felt
  • real/rɪəl/— not false or imagined

Etymology

from Latin "genuinus" = native, natural, innate — possibly from "genu" (knee), relating to an ancient Roman practice of acknowledging a child