Basic Details
Word: Sincerity
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: The quality of being honest and really meaning what you say or do.
Synonyms: honesty, genuineness, truthfulness
Antonyms: insincerity, dishonesty, deceit
How to Spell Sincerity
Syllables: sin - cer - i - ty
Tricky part: The second syllable is cer with a c, not ser. Sincere drops its final e, so sincerety and sincereity are wrong.
Watch out for: sincerety, sinserity, sincereity, sincirity
Memory tip: The middle syllable is cer, as in certain and concert. The c sounds like s because an e follows it.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Nobody doubted the sincerity of his apology after he returned the bicycle, freshly oiled.
Example 2: Her sincerity won the trust of the whole team.
Example 3: Speak with sincerity, and people will listen.
Fun Fact
A popular story says sincere comes from Latin sine cera, without wax, about sculptors who did not hide cracks with wax. Dictionaries say the story is not true; the real source is Latin sincerus, meaning pure or clean.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word sincerity as used in the sentence:
The principal praised the sincerity with which the class monitor admitted her mistake.
a) deceit
b) honesty
c) anger
d) humour
Show answer
b) honesty. Admitting a mistake openly shows honesty; deceit is the opposite.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
s_nc_rity
a) y, e
b) e, e
c) i, i
d) i, e
Show answer
d) i, e. Sin starts the word, and the cer part keeps its e.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. integrety 2. sincerity 3. loyality 4. humillity
a) being honest and having strong principles
b) the quality of meaning what you say
c) staying faithful to someone
d) not thinking you are better than others
Show answer
b) the quality of meaning what you say. Integrity ends in rity, humility has one l and loyalty has no i, so sincerity is the only correct one.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which action shows sincerity?
a) agreeing just to end an argument
b) saying sorry while laughing
c) keeping a promise you made
d) praising a gift you secretly dislike
Show answer
c) keeping a promise you made
2. The opposite of sincerity is ____.
a) patience
b) kindness
c) insincerity
d) bravery
Show answer
c) insincerity
