candid

adjective can·did \ ˈkan-dəd \

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: candid in a Sentence

Editor's Note: The Many Shades of candid

Definition of candid

1 a : marked by honest sincere expression

a candid discussion

b : disposed to criticize severely : blunt

candid critics

c : indicating or suggesting sincere honesty and absence of deception

her candid face

2 : free from bias, prejudice, or malice : fair

a candid observer

3 : relating to or being photography of subjects acting naturally or spontaneously without being posed

candid photos of the family at play

4 : white

candid flames

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candidly

adverb

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candidness

noun

See candid defined for English-language learners

See candid defined for kids

Examples of candid in a Sentence

If Bart Knaggs had been totally candid, he would have told me that when his prospective father-in-law, who was a doctor, had heard that the cancer had moved into my lungs, he said to Bart, "Well, your friend is dead." —Lance Armstrong, It's Not About the Bike, (2000) 2001
To be candid, I have wondered whether it is fair to write about a man for whom I cannot help but feel a real distaste. —Jill Lepore, Journal of American History, June 2001
There are candid … anecdotes of open-heart surgery. —Joyce Carol Oates, New York Times Book Review, 30 Sept. 1990
He was quite candid about his past.
She gave us her candid opinion on the matter.

Recent Examples of candid from the Web

Overcoming Drug Addiction Bourdain was candid about his struggles with heroin use.

— nick maslow, PEOPLE.com, "From Overcoming Heroin Addiction to Finding Love After Divorce: Anthony Bourdain's Ups and Downs," 8 June 2018
Myers was surprisingly candid about that last topic.

— al saracevic, San Francisco Chronicle, "Warriors GM Bob Myers: ‘Everything’s fair. I criticize myself’," 2 June 2018
As always, conversations at league meetings are candid, thoughtful and thorough.

— elizabeth zwirz, Fox News, "NFL considers proposed 15-yard penalty for kneeling, report says," 23 May 2018
But the rapper just shared a very candid, toned-down selfie with her 23+ million Instagram followers, showing her natural hair and bare face.

— jillian ruffo, PEOPLE.com, "Pregnant Cardi B Goes Completely Makeup Free and Shows Natural Hair in New Selfie," 2 May 2018
The women are also candid, thoughtful, often funny, and have a knack for telling anecdotes.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "'After Auschwitz': The women who lived to tell, and the inspiring lives they've lived," 26 Apr. 2018
Both men can be candid, a penchant that can go awry, as seen with the flap with Ms. Haley this week.

— nick timiraos, WSJ, "Lawrence Kudlow’s Uneasy Transition From TV to White House Reality," 20 Apr. 2018
The work looks at pivotal figures throughout multiple generations, offering candid, behind-the scenes moments.

— sonaiya kelley, latimes.com, "Nas on Netflix docuseries 'Rapture,' Killer Mike and why hip-hop's mainstream appeal won't be enough to kill the genre," 3 Apr. 2018
And to be candid, that hasn't always been the case when the Heat have stayed big with Hassan against smaller lineups.

— ira winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "ASK IRA: Will Hassan Whiteside be back with the Heat next season?," 2 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'candid.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The Many Shades of candid

It is interesting that candid, which has the original meaning in English of “white,” should have so many colors of meaning. The word comes from the French candide, which is from the Latin candidus (“bright, white”). Candid is not often used to mean “white” these days, and has shed another of its older meanings, “clear, pure.” Many of its current meanings are concerned with forms of honesty and forthrightness. It may refer to the indication or suggestion of sincere honesty (“her candid eyes”), or to something being marked by honest expression (“a candid talk”). However, it also carries the meaning of bluntness (or “disposed to criticize severely”), as well as “free from bias, prejudice, or malice.” The most recent sense it has taken on is in the vocabulary of photography: “relating to or being photography of subjects acting naturally or spontaneously without being posed.”

Origin and Etymology of candid

French & Latin; French candide, from Latin candidus bright, white, from candēre to shine, glow; akin to Welsh can white, Sanskrit candati it shines

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1606

in the meaning defined at sense 4

See Words from the same year

candid Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of candid

frank, candid, open, plain mean showing willingness to tell what one feels or thinks. frank stresses lack of shyness or secretiveness or of evasiveness from considerations of tact or expedience.

- frank discussions

candid suggests expression marked by sincerity and honesty especially in offering unwelcome criticism or opinion.

- a candid appraisal

open implies frankness but suggests more indiscretion than frank and less earnestness than candid.

- open in saying what they think

plain suggests outspokenness and freedom from affectation or subtlety in expression.

- plain talk

CANDID Defined for English Language Learners

candid

adjective

Definition of candid for English Language Learners

: expressing opinions and feelings in an honest and sincere way
photography : showing people acting in a natural way because they do not know that they are being photographed