plainspoken

adjective

plain·​spo·​ken ˈplān-ˈspō-kən How to pronounce plainspoken (audio)
Synonyms of plainspokennext
plainspokenness noun

Examples of plainspoken in a Sentence

a plainspoken woman who never hesitated to speak the unvarnished truth
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Oklahoma voters rejected raising hourly wage to $15 The ballot in Oklahoma had plenty of statewide races, but voters were plainspoken that raising wages for the poorest workers is what drove them to the polls on June 16. Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 17 June 2026 In emotional, plainspoken lines, Bidart reflects on growing up gay in mid-twentieth-century America. JSTOR Daily, 11 June 2026 Finally, a full 38 years after their last onscreen romance, the old friends re-teamed for Our Souls at Night (2017), a low-key and plainspoken story of late-in-life friendship turning to something more. Jesse Hassenger, Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2026 Amid the early-spring lightness of the filmmaking, Fukada values softly plainspoken earnestness of emotion, as his repressed, recessive characters learn to listen to their own impulses in the general stillness that surrounds them. Guy Lodge, Variety, 13 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for plainspoken

Word History

First Known Use

1678, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of plainspoken was in 1678

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Cite this Entry

“Plainspoken.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plainspoken. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.

Kids Definition

plainspoken

adjective
plain·​spo·​ken -ˈspō-kən How to pronounce plainspoken (audio)
: speaking or spoken frankly
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