# Bona

/ˈboʊnə/ (US) · CEFR C2 · Adjective

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/bona
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Definition

real or genuine. It is often part of the phrase 'bona fide', which describes something that is the real thing and not a fake.

For teachers: genuine, authentic, or carried out in good faith. Derived from Latin, it most frequently appears as part of the fixed expression 'bona fide'.

## Examples

- He is a bona fide expert in his field.
- The museum confirmed that the painting was a bona fide masterpiece from the seventeenth century.
- Establishing a bona fide claim to the inheritance required the legal team to produce original documents that had been sealed in a private vault for decades.

## Pitfalls

- Not "a bona fido agreement" but "a bona fide agreement" — Learners sometimes misspell the Latin ending as 'fido' (the common dog name) instead of 'fide'.

## Usage notes

- Primarily used as part of the compound adjective 'bona fide', which typically precedes the noun it modifies.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.