genuine
Americanadjective
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possessing the claimed or attributed character, quality, or origin; not counterfeit; authentic; real.
genuine sympathy;
a genuine antique.
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properly so called.
a genuine case of smallpox.
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free from pretense, affectation, or hypocrisy; sincere.
a genuine person.
- Synonyms:
- forthright, frank, honest, open, unaffected, true
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descended from the original stock; pure in breed.
a genuine Celtic people.
adjective
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not fake or counterfeit; original; real; authentic
-
not pretending; frank; sincere
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being of authentic or original stock
Pronunciation
Two pronunciations of genuine occur, with a sharp social contrast between them. The usual educated pronunciation is , with the final syllable unstressed. Among some less educated speakers, especially older ones, genuine is commonly pronounced as , with a secondary stress on the final syllable, which has the vowel of sign. The latter pronunciation is sometimes used deliberately by educated speakers, as for emphasis or humorous effect.
Related Words
See authentic.
Other Word Forms
- genuinely adverb
- genuineness noun
- nongenuine adjective
- quasi-genuine adjective
- ungenuine adjective
Etymology
Origin of genuine
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin genuīnus “innate, natural,” equivalent to genu, as in ingenuus “native” ( ingenuous ) + -īnus adjective suffix ( -ine 1 )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
More than most Cold War thrillers, this true story offers genuine suspense—and genuine insight into Mitrokhin’s complex motivations.
Speaking to players publicly and privately during United's summer trip to the United States, there was genuine enthusiasm for the season that lay ahead.
From BBC
This period also appears to have been his only genuine brush with the military, with his name appearing in the London Gazette in 1991 as part of the college's Combined Cadet Force.
From BBC
"It should have been a genuine opportunity to remember and think about the lives of all those who have served their country and their community," he said.
From BBC
"I rarely know the intelligence agents' backgrounds when they are sent on the course, and I doubt the names I'm given are genuine anyway," he says.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
