If we're being truthful, people are saying 'honestly' all the time

L. Carol Ritchie

November 07, 2025 / 2:00 am

To be honest, people are saying "honestly" all the time.

According to the Corpus of Historical American English, a database that measures word usage over time, the use of "honestly" has skyrocketed over the last 25 years.

Not just in casual conversation: It's a signifier of online authenticity.

"Honestly" is the name of the podcast by CBS News' new editor Bari Weiss, the title of a 2022 studio album by Drake, the name of a new AI journaling app and appended to a number of popular TikTok and Instagram accounts.

So, for this installment of Word of the Week, we ask, what's up with 'honestly'?

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