as in honesty
the free expression of one's true feelings and opinions
I valued her forthrightness in telling me she didn't like being called "Susie"
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Recent Examples of forthrightness
To say we are disappointed by the lack of urgency and forthrightness from the city attorney’s office is an understatement.
—
City News Service, Daily News, 8 Apr. 2026
Fortune spoke with six people who have invested in Anthropic to get a sense of how this key constituency is feeling about the situation, and found that opinions were not unified despite the company’s longstanding forthrightness about its values.
—Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2026
WalletHub has studied deferred interest since 2012, periodically flagging retailers that offer the loans and rating their financing offers on transparency and forthrightness.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 28 Nov. 2025
Monique’s penchant for forthrightness, almost to the point of abruptness, is what makes her reintegration to the cast fascinating already.
—Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
For parents, the name of the game is forthrightness.
—Nona Han, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
The elections have vindicated Move Forward’s forthrightness, confirming that citizens want a national conversation about the monarchy.
—Tamara Loos, Foreign Affairs, 25 May 2023
City News Service, Daily News, 8 Apr. 2026
Fortune spoke with six people who have invested in Anthropic to get a sense of how this key constituency is feeling about the situation, and found that opinions were not unified despite the company’s longstanding forthrightness about its values.
—Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2026
WalletHub has studied deferred interest since 2012, periodically flagging retailers that offer the loans and rating their financing offers on transparency and forthrightness.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 28 Nov. 2025
Monique’s penchant for forthrightness, almost to the point of abruptness, is what makes her reintegration to the cast fascinating already.
—Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
For parents, the name of the game is forthrightness.
—Nona Han, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
The elections have vindicated Move Forward’s forthrightness, confirming that citizens want a national conversation about the monarchy.
—Tamara Loos, Foreign Affairs, 25 May 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forthrightness
Noun
-
That includes not wanting to help people through tactful honesty.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The Moon settles into your 4th House of Home, where honesty builds trust quickly.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Floyd’s sincerity, the startling extremity of his concern for the comfort of others, snaps Clark out of his depressed, and depressing, complacency.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
24 Apr. 2026
-
But as the left grows increasingly distrustful of big tech companies, progressives aren’t convinced of the moguls’ sincerity.—
Nicholas Wu,
semafor.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Just as the story mines humor from the collision of old-fashioned ways with a modern frankness, Paul’s score combines the appeal of jaunty golden-age sounds with a freshness that feels present day.—
Naveen Kumar,
Variety,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Her love for the city is palpable, imbued with her frankness, her fun, her queerness, and her history.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This is the meeting of the messenger planet and the taskmaster, let alone in the zodiac’s most fearless sign, setting the stage for a transit that cuts right through the fluff, forcing truth and directness.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The plainspoken lyrics align with a broader embrace of sincerity, privileging emotional directness over irony.—
Emma Madden,
Pitchfork,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But the bluntness of the lyrics arrives just as quickly, undercutting the atmosphere by naming too plainly what the music had already begun to evoke with greater force.—
Emma Madden,
Pitchfork,
30 Apr. 2026
-
If someone tends to have more of a combative communication style, they might have been raised to see bluntness as just telling the truth.—
Nancy Pulciano,
Rolling Stone,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Mary Gaitskill is particularly good at this ideal combination of straightforwardness and pithiness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Her question, in Lipe-Smith’s inquisitive piccolo of a voice, is heartbreaking in its blend of straightforwardness and desperate desire, as is her mother’s wavering response.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Kerr’s success is as rare as his candor.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The series will see Morgan engage in in-depth conversations with influential figures across sports, politics, global affairs, business, and culture, with his signature candor and incisive interviewing style.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
His outspokenness has spurred discourse among country music's Republican-leaning audience.—
Mars Salazar,
Austin American Statesman,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The actor recently reflected on his political outspokenness in an interview with Vanity Fair.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forthrightness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forthrightness. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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