sincere

Etymology

From Middle French sincere, from Latin sincerus (“genuine”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- + *ḱer- (“grow”), from which also Ceres (“goddess of harvest”) from which English cereal. Unrelated to sine (“without”) + cera (“wax”) (folk etymology); see Wikipedia page.

adj

  1. Genuine; meaning what one says or does; heartfelt.
    I believe he is sincere in his offer to help.
  2. Meant truly or earnestly.
    She gave it a sincere if misguided effort.
  3. (archaic) clean; pure

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