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Glite Dictionary
honest-to-god

honest-to-god

1 7.9
Truly real and not fake
  • idiom
  • /ˈɑnɪst tə ˈɡɑd/
  • Informal
translation icon : de verdad
  • I honest to God didn't know there were this many shrimp in the entire world.

And so, so the thing that nourishes the audience the most is just honest to God, good story.

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Examples

  • OK, Honest to God, I think I'm being punked.

  • But inside, honest to god, Bette, I feel 19.

    Dad (1989)

  • The dad was every bit as bad as the kid and honest to God I could not believe how long it went on.

  • I honest to God thought he was pulling my leg!

    Blog text (31)

  • Have you guys ever had a real honest-to-god fight, ever?

    The Wedding Date (2005)

  • No, Zach, honest to God, like this, like I'm actually impressed.

  • It'll never be taken, no, but honest to God, bro, I'm very proud of you.

  • Now, you're all going to laugh when I say this, but the honest to God truth is, I don't know.

    The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

  • And that's where, honest to God, this simple habit of demonstrating it every morning in the mirror as part of your morning routine changes everything.

  • I honest-to-god thought he was serious when he said he would run a marathon.

Synonyms

really
vshonest-to-god
∞ 1.0

Shows that something is true or certain

adds more casual, oathlike emphasis than plain intensifier
truly
vshonest-to-god
∞ 1.0

In a real and honest way

leans toward informal, conversational emphasis instead of formality
honestly
vshonest-to-god
691 1.1

Said when you want to stress that you really mean what you say

is used to state object reality rather than only speaker feeling
to be honest
vshonest-to-god
  • Informal
221 2.3

To show you are telling the truth or how you really feel

does not assert that something is real, focusing on speaker attitude
genuinely
vshonest-to-god
216 2.5

In a real and honest way, not pretending

introduces stronger informal oathlike assurance beyond neutral tone
real live
vshonest-to-god
  • Informal
25 3.9

Present in person and not imaginary

focuses on being real rather than just existing in imagination
honest-to-goodness
vshonest-to-god
  • Informal
6 7.7

Real and not fake

is identical in meaning but uses a different informal expression
God's honest truth
vshonest-to-god
  • Informal
5 6.1

A phrase people say to show what they say is really true

expresses the same certainty but without religious or solemn shade
sure-enough
vshonest-to-god
  • Informal
1 8.1

Clearly real and not fake to show you really mean it

places stronger oathlike force indicating actual existence
legit
vshonest-to-god
  • Informal
1 8.5

To say that something is really true or serious

is more like a colloquial oath and less slangy in tone
for real and for true
vshonest-to-god
  • Informal
9.2

To show that something is really true and not a joke

highlights reality rather than speaker's inner feeling

Antonyms

fake
833 1.8

Not real and made to look like something real

Surface Forms

honest-to-god positive

Morphology

honest-to-god = honest + god (semi-transparent) = to + honest + god

The components 'honest' and 'god' are literal and signal emphasis, but the fixed idiomatic use as an intensifier ('genuinely') is not a strictly compositional, productive pattern for learners.

Etymology

Honest-to-god comes from people saying 'honest to God' as a promise or strong way to show they were telling the truth, using the familiar words honest and God. So honest-to-god is an informal way to say something is really 'true' or 'genuine'.