bona fide
adjective
ˈbä-
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Bona fide means "in good faith" in Latin. When applied to business deals and the like, it stresses the absence of fraud or deception. A bona fide sale of securities is an entirely aboveboard transaction. Outside of business and law, bona fide implies mere sincerity and earnestness. A bona fide promise is one that the person has every intention of keeping. A bona fide proposal of marriage is one made by a suitor who isn't kidding around. Bona fide also has the noun form bona fides; when someone asks about someone else's bona fides, it usually means evidence of their qualifications or achievements.
Synonyms
Examples of bona fide in a Sentence
Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 9 Nov. 2024
Every team in the NFC North is above .500 and every team in that division (at the moment) looks like a bona fide playoff team.
—Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 18 Oct. 2024
From Bloom and The O.C.’s Adam Brody to Sexiest Man Alive titleholders Adam Levine and Brad Pitt, many of Teen People readers’ favorite men are now bona fide stars in their respective fields.
—Brendan Le, People.com, 10 Oct. 2024
To boot, the story is genuinely affecting, as Schmidt and Jenko’s relationship builds and morphs into a bona fide life-affirming friendship.
—Travis Bean, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near bona fide
Cite this Entry
“Bona fide.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bona%20fide. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bona fide
adjective
ˈbä-nə-
Legal Definition
bona fide
adjective
Latin, in good faith
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