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.
The gist—that only in the relatively untamed countryside do genuine humans exist—seems an unnecessary thing to base a show on.
“Without a genuine willingness to reform and a powerful impetus in Berlin and Brussels, the industrial base is at risk of structural collapse,” the head of the trade group said.
According to the research team, high scores on tests originally designed for humans do not necessarily indicate genuine intelligence.
From Science Daily
The BBC, which was also heavily criticised over the incident, said it was the result of a "genuine mistake" and is looking into why it was not removed from iPlayer sooner.
From BBC
"By shedding light on the biology and ecology of the great white shark, research can help replace unfounded myths with genuine understanding."
From Science Daily
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.
