different between hopefully vs thankfully

English

Etymology

From hopeful +? -ly. (Cf. German hoffentlich it is to be hoped.)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?h??pf?li/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?ho?pf?li/

Adverb

hopefully (comparative more hopefully, superlative most hopefully)

1. In a hopeful manner. [from 17th c.]
   • 1993, Alasdair Gray, ‘You’, Ten Tales Tall and True:

     ‘In fifteen minutes I will be at the carpark, sitting hopefully inside a puce Reliant Scimitar.’

2. (not comparable) It is hoped that; I hope; we hope. [from 18th c.]

   She was buried with her mom and hopefully they are together now.

Usage notes

The second definition (“I hope that”, used as a sentence adverb) has been criticized by some usage writers although it is by far the most commonly used sense of the word. Many adverbs are used as sentence modifiers with somewhat less frequent objection such as interestingly, frankly, clearly, luckily, and unfortunately. Unlike for many such shifts in meaning that occur in English, the portion of the American Heritage Dictionary's Usage Panel that condones the second sense of the word has decreased from 1969 to 2000, offering the explanation that this particular usage has become a shibboleth. Merriam-Webster, on the other hand, calls the usage "entirely standard", and notes that it has been used since the early 18th century, having been commonly used in American English since the 1930s, and gained significant popularity in the 1960s.

The dispute over the use of sentence adverbs is born largely of the fact that in using an existing adverb to apply to not only one verb but a whole sentence, the meaning of the word is altered, which, in certain situations, can lead to ambiguity. For example, Hopefully, he will save money for the deposit on a new house can mean either that it is hoped that he will save the money (in which hopefully is a sentence adverb modifying the entire sentence) or that he is saving money in a hopeful manner (in which hopefully modifies will save). Sentence adverbs have played a part in English since the 17th century but have been limited largely to use wherein they retain their original definition (e.g. probably). It was not until the 20th century that they began to be used in other situations.

“[T]here is no precise substitute,” says the American Heritage Dictionary. “Someone who says Hopefully, the treaty will be ratified makes a hopeful prediction about the fate of the treaty, whereas someone who says I hope (or We hope or It is hoped) the treaty will be ratified expresses a bald statement about what is desired. Only the latter could be continued with a clause such as but it isn’t likely.” Hopefully is also less personal than I hope or we hope. It is hoped that and if hopes are realized would be impersonal and have been suggested as alternatives to hopefully, but using hopefully is more concise.

Compare to the usage of regretfully, which does have the substitute regrettably. In fact, hopeably has been proposed as an alternative, but it has not caught on.

Translations

References

English

Etymology

From Middle English thankfully, thankefully, þonkfulliche, from Old English þancfull??e, equivalent to thankful +? -ly.

Adverb

thankfully (comparative more thankfully, superlative most thankfully)

1. In a thankful manner; giving thanks.
   • c. 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act I scene i^[1]:

     Gratiano:

     […] I owe you much, and, like a wilful youth

     That which I owe is lost; but if you please

     To shoot another arrow that self way

     Which you did shoot the first, I do not doubt,

     As I will watch the aim, or to find both,

     Or bring your latter hazard back again,

     And thankfully rest debtor for the first.

   • I immediately offered my assistance to the unhappy person, who thankfully accepted it, and, putting himself under my conduct, begged me to convey him to some tavern, where he might send for a surgeon […]

2. (sometimes proscribed) fortunately, gratefully.

   I was almost late for work, but thankfully there wasn't much traffic on the roads.

Translations