What It Means to Be Authentic

We have all met people who come across as “real.” They are the “what you see is what you get” people with no hidden agenda. They say what they mean and mean what they say, for better or worse. We believe these people are authentic, but what does “authentic” mean? If we all agreed on the dictionary definition—“to be genuine”—then why might a person who seems genuine to one person upon the first meeting seem like a fraud to someone else?