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genuine

adjective/ˈdʒɛnjəwən/

real; authentic

She appreciated his genuine concern for her well-being, knowing that he truly cared about her.

actualoriginalsincerehonest
word origin — late 16th century (in the sense ‘natural or proper’): from Latin genuinus, of uncertain origin; perhaps from genu ‘knee’ (with reference to the Roman custom of a father acknowledging paternity of a newborn child by placing it on his knee), or related to gignere ‘create, beget’

Upper-Intermediate — Set 29

Set 29 of Upper-Intermediate covers 5 words: genuine, innocent, defective, primary, tremendous. Each entry below includes its definition, an example sentence, and synonyms — practice them with the interactive cards above.

  1. genuine · adjective/ˈdʒɛnjəwən/

    real; authentic

    She appreciated his genuine concern for her well-being, knowing that he truly cared about her.

    Synonyms: actual, original, sincere, honest

    Origin: late 16th century (in the sense ‘natural or proper’): from Latin genuinus, of uncertain origin; perhaps from genu ‘knee’ (with reference to the Roman custom of a father acknowledging paternity of a newborn child by placing it on his knee), or related to gignere ‘create, beget’

  2. innocent · adjective/ˈɪnəs(ə)nt/

    free of guilt or fault

    Nobody believed Tom but his voice sounded totally innocent to me.

    Synonyms: blameless, sinless, pure, faultless

    Origin: Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin innocent- ‘not harming’, from in- ‘not’ + nocere ‘to hurt’

  3. defective · adjective/dəˈfɛktɪv/

    not working well due to having a fault

    A genetic test can show if a person has a defective gene and is likely to develop a genetic disease.

    Synonyms: faulty, flawed, malfunctioning, imperfect

  4. primary · adjective/ˈpraɪˌmɛri/

    main

    The primary reason for unemployment in the region is the closure of several major factories, resulting in a significant loss of jobs.

    Synonyms: chief, essential, basic, foremost, leading

    Origin: late Middle English (in the sense ‘original, not derivative’): from Latin primarius, from primus ‘first’. The noun uses date from the 18th century

  5. tremendous · adjective/trəˈmɛndəs/

    huge; great

    After the fire, they realized that there was a tremendous amount of damage to the whole building.

    Synonyms: massive, enormous, immense, colossal

    Origin: mid 17th century: from Latin tremendus (gerundive of tremere ‘tremble’) + -ous