hopefully

adverb

hope·ful·ly ˈhōp-fə-lē

Synonyms of hopefully next

: in a way that expresses desire with an expectation of fulfillment : in a hopeful manner

gazed up at us hopefully

: it is hoped : I hope : we hope

hopefully the rain will end soon

Can hopefully mean 'I hope'?: Usage Guide

In the 1960s the second sense of hopefully ("it is hoped"), which dates to the early 18th century and had been in fairly widespread use since at least the 1930s, underwent a surge in popularity. A surge of criticism followed in reaction, but the criticism took no account of the grammar of adverbs. Hopefully when used to mean "it is hoped" is a member of a class of adverbs known as disjuncts. Disjuncts serve as a means by which the author or speaker can comment directly to the reader or hearer usually on the content of the sentence to which they are attached. Many other adverbs (such as interestingly, frankly, clearly, luckily, unfortunately) are similarly used; most are so ordinary as to excite no comment or interest whatsoever. The "it is hoped" sense of hopefully is entirely standard.

Examples of hopefully in a Sentence

They gazed up at us hopefully. Hopefully, things will get better soon.

Recent Examples on the Web For that to change in the coming years more studies need to happen, something that Biden’s executive order announcing a $12 billion dollar investment in women’s health research can hopefully help facilitate (Origin is currently applying for one of the research grants). —

Fiorella Valdesolo, Vogue, 19 Apr. 2024 The crossing facilities will be used to screen convoys in parallel to the screening at Rafah to hopefully double the amount of aid that enters Gaza, officials say. —

Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 19 Apr. 2024 This approach allows families to embrace the schools, their child’s learning and hopefully, eventually, create a culture of parent involvement that continues beyond the grant funding. —

Mathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, 18 Apr. 2024 This dream of hope that started more than 20 years ago in his home in Kibera has now reached more than 3 million Kenyans and is rapidly becoming a blueprint that will one day, hopefully, reach the world—a movement for change led by the people themselves. —

TIME, 17 Apr. 2024 Humans have traversed the difficult feelings of loss, grief, and general sadness while still trying to cultivate a meaningful and, hopefully, joyful life. —

Dominique Fluker, Essence, 17 Apr. 2024 Nature wants replication and hopefully improvement for the next generation. —

David Allan, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024 For example, if there’s a piece of content like the weighted average cost of capital, there are study components to help put that into greater context to hopefully increase students’ understanding. —

Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2024 Things might be finalized, hopefully to everyone’s satisfaction. —

Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 8 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hopefully.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.