bona fide
adjective
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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
Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 12 May 2024
After taking the world by storm with SOUR, the two followed up with a bona fide modern masterpiece in 2023: GUTS.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 10 May 2024
More than three decades later, Blige, 53, is a bona fide icon with nine Grammy Awards, 42 singles as a lead artist, album sales north of 50 million and upcoming induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024
Now a bona fide trio, G. Love & Special Sauce started crafting demos to send to music conferences.
—Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 5 May 2024
The Bay Area’s vibrant acoustic music scene in the 1960s and 1970s helped make Berkeley’s Laurie Lewis, who grew up learning classical piano and violin, a bona fide bluegrass star and an inspiration to young local musicians who’ve followed in her footsteps.
—John Woolfolk, The Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2024
The Fania All Stars were a monumental salsa orchestra where every singer and musician was a bona fide star.
—Ernesto Lechner, SPIN, 16 Apr. 2024
Secondhand marketplaces provide endless access to famed collections of the past—pieces that carry history and lore; are the footprints of a fashion house, and bona fide heirlooms that remain in the zeitgeist.
—Megan O'Sullivan, Vogue, 17 Apr. 2024
Bishop has man coverage potential on tight ends and is a bona fide striker when crashing down from his zone perch.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bona fide.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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 16 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bona fide
adjective
ˈbä-nə-
Legal Definition
bona fide
adjective
Latin, in good faith
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