Sincerity is meaning honestly what you say. Doubt his sincerity, speak with sincerity, a question of sincerity.
It is about the match between words and belief rather than about being right — you can be entirely sincere and completely wrong. The old story that the Latin means without wax is charming and false. Note sincere beneath it.
1nounsincerityMeaning honestly what you say.
“Nobody doubted the sincerity of her apology.”
sincerity is a quality of honesty.
Latin sinceritas comes from sincerus, clean or pure. The tale that it means without wax is false.
Latin
sincēritās
Medieval Latin
sincēritās
Old French
sincerité
Middle English
sinceritie
English, today
sincerity
From Middle English sinceritie, from Old French sincerité and Medieval Latin sincēritās; both from Latin sincēritās, from sincērus + -tās. Equivalent to sincere + ity.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA