SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
bona fide
adjective
Genuine or made in good faith.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Genuine
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topLegitimate concerns validity; genuine concerns whether something is what it claims to be.
Made in good faith
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topA bona fide offer is made sincerely, though it can still be mistaken or impractical.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See bona fide in use
The curator asked for proof that the offer was bona fide.
For an invented photography exhibition, the student curator wanted an authentic contact sheet made by the photographer, not a modern reproduction passed off as original. A bona fide lender supplied it with records connecting the sheet to her family's collection.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license