hopefully

English Online Dictionary. What means hopefully‎? What does hopefully mean?

English

Etymology

From hopeful +‎ -ly. The use as a sentence adverb first gained currency in the United States and has been explained as a possible calque of German hoffentlich.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhəʊpfəli/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhoʊpfəli/

Adverb

hopefully (comparative more hopefully, superlative most hopefully)

1. In a hopeful manner. [from 17th c.]
3. (not comparable) It is hoped that; I hope; we hope. [from 18th c.]

Usage notes

Sense 2 has been criticized by some usage writers although it is by far the most commonly used sense of the word and many other adverbs are also used as sentence modifiers. Merriam-Webster calls the usage "entirely standard", and notes that it first saw use in the early 18th century, became common in American English in the 1930s, and gained significant popularity in the 1960s.

Compare to the usage of regretfully, which does have the substitute regrettably. In fact, hopeably has been proposed as an alternative, but it has not caught on.

Synonyms

• (it is hoped that): fingers crossed

Derived terms

• it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive

Translations

References