Also means
frankly
Usage Note
Onestamente functions both as a manner adverb ('she acted honestly') and as a discourse marker at the start of a sentence meaning 'frankly' or 'to be honest' — similar to English 'honestly.' In spoken Italian it is very commonly used as a sentence opener to signal candid opinion, much like sinceramente or francamente.
Examples
"Onestamente, non so cosa rispondere."
Natural Translation
Honestly, I don't know what to answer.

Free starter pack
Building your Italian vocabulary?
Get the 100 most common Italian words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.
Related Words
Explore Italian by topic
ItalianNow
5 min read