Genuinely means truly, honestly, or sincerely, without pretending or faking. When you're genuinely happy for your friend who won the science fair, you really feel excited for them from the heart. When someone is genuinely sorry, they truly regret what they did and want to make things right.

The word helps us distinguish real feelings from fake ones. A genuine smile reaches your eyes and comes from actual happiness, while a forced smile is just moving your mouth. When you're genuinely interested in learning about ancient Egypt, you want to know more because you find it fascinating and can't help asking questions about it.

You'll often see genuinely used to emphasize that something is real or authentic. “She's genuinely talented” means her skill is real, not just hype. “I'm genuinely confused” means you're not pretending, you really don't understand.

The opposite would be acting or pretending. Someone might smile and say they like your drawing when they don't really mean it, but when someone is genuinely impressed, you can tell they mean it.