French Conversation · Level 42
75 words
French word
sûrement
Pronunciation
IPA/syʁəmɑ̃/
Meaning
- adverbsurely
Example
Elle a sûrement oublié son rendez-vous.
She surely forgot her appointment.
More examples
Il va sûrement arriver bientôt.
He will surely arrive soon.
Core concept
The speaker's conviction places an expected fact close to certainty without claiming direct proof.
Common phrases
a sûrement raison
is surely right
va sûrement arriver
will surely arrive
Similar words
certainement: States with strong confidence that something is almost certain.
probablement: Indicates that circumstances or information make something likely.
sans doute: Indicates that something is very likely to be true, with little doubt.
peut-être: Indicates uncertainty while acknowledging that something is possible.
Definition in French
Sert à marquer une forte probabilité ou une forte conviction concernant un fait.
Word origin
French builds sûrement from sûr with -ment, and sûr developed from Latin securus, whose meanings included safe, free from danger, and certain.
Usage tips
- Sûrement can sound less categorical than certainement when it marks a strong inference rather than an established fact.
Other meanings
- probablyadverb
Opposites
- peut-êtreperhapsadverb
- éventuellementpossiblyadverb