Sincere (Word of the day, 2007/9/5)

By Alan Lin

Sincere
Adjective
1. real; not pretend; earnest; based on what is truly and deeply felt
• I wish to express sincere appreciation to the many individuals who have offered support, inspiration, and encouragement throughout this research effort.
• You have my sincere apology.
• Both President Bush and Secretary of State Powell have expressed their sincere regret over your missing pilot and aircraft.”
•I regret the loss of her sincere friendship.
2. honest and unaffected in a way that shows what is said is really meant
•He is a decent and sincere person.
3. pure; unmixed; whole; perfect; unhurt
• sincere wine
4. solemn
• He always maintains his sincere, serious demeanor.

Inflected Form(s): sincerer; sincerest

Sincerely
adverb
1. in an honest and straightforward way
• I sincerely hope you will come with us.
2. Yours sincerely used immediately before the signature to end a letter that is addressed to somebody by name
•Dear John,
Oh, how I hate to write!
I must let you know tonight that my love for you has died away, like grass upon the lawn. And tonight I wed another.
Yours sincerely,
Mary

Sincerity = Sincereness
noun
1. an earnest and sincere feeling; seriousness
• Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.
2. the quality or state of being sincere; honesty in the expression of true or deep feelings; freedom from simulation, hypocrisy, disguise, or false pretense
• He is a man of sincerity.
3. a quality of naturalness and simplicity;
• the simple sincerity of folk songs
4: the trait of being serious;
• We do have an expectation that you are entering into this sacrament with great seriousness and sincerity.

Antonym:
• insincere, adj.
• insincerely, adv.
• Insincerity, n.