(ˈ)sin|si(ə)r, _sənˈs-, -iə adjective
( usually -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle French, from Latin sincerus, probably from sem- one + -cerus (from creare to create) — more at same , crescent
1. : marked by genuineness: as
a. : free of dissimulation : not hypocritical : real , true , honest
the missionaries were prompted by a sincere desire for good — Herman Melville
was above all sincere and detested any form of pretense or affectation — Terry de Valera
b.
(1) : free from adulteration : not mixed
to find and isolate Nazism in its pure sincere form proved extremely difficult — J.C.Harsch
(2) : not containing any foreign element : pure
wood is cheap and wine sincere outside the city gate — Robert Browning
c. : marked by truth : genuine
the only sincere glimpse that we get of the living breathing word-compelling Dante — J.R.Lowell
d. : motivated by a desire for meaningful expression
the emotional substratum which we feel to be inseparable from a truly great and sincere work of musical art — Edward Sapir
2. archaic : devoid
air sincere of ceremonious haze — J.R.Lowell
3. : characterized by firm belief in the validity of one's own opinions
an entirely sincere and cruel tyrant
Synonyms:
wholehearted , whole-souled , heartfelt , hearty , unfeigned : sincere suggests absence of hypocrisy, dissimulation, falsification, feigning, or embellishment and consequent honest genuineness
too sincere for dissimulation — Ellen Glasgow
individuals are considered sincere when there is little or no discrepancy between the goals they seek and those they claim to be seeking — L.W.Doob
wholehearted and whole-souled stress lack of reservation or misgiving and may suggest devotion, zeal, and sincerity
writes himself down a frank and wholehearted Tory — V.L.Parrington
who could help liking her? her generous nature, her gift for appreciation, her wholehearted, fervid enthusiasm — L.P.Smith
men whose dedication to their country was whole-souled, nevertheless, and for whom the supreme frustration of personal ambition never deflected them away from public services of a monumental nature — Eric Sevareid
heartfelt suggests a genuine stirring of innermost feelings and usually contrasts with formal, conventional, outwardly indicated, more or less factitious manifestation
our sympathy for you therefore is heartfelt, for we are sharing the same sufferings — Sir Winston Churchill
if ever men have offered heartfelt thanks to God for deliverance from the perils of the sea, surely we were those men — C.B.Nordhoff & J.N.Hall
hearty may suggest vigorous manifestations like notable warmth and robust exuberance
infuriated elderly traveling salesmen were backslapped all day long by hearty and powerful unknown persons — Sinclair Lewis
a courtier's laugh, decorous, brief and not too hearty — J.H.Wheelwright
unfeigned may stress spontaneity and absence of simulation
I confess to unfeigned delight in the insurgent propaganda — J.L.Lowes