Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

frankly

play
adverb frank·ly \ˈfraŋ-klē\

Definition of frankly

  1. 1 :  in a frank manner spoke frankly

  2. 2 :  in truth :  indeed frankly, I don't know

See frankly defined for English-language learners

See frankly defined for kids

Explore M-W

istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz
image599301899
Pretty in 'Pink'
decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?
supreme-court-at-dusk
Trending: SCOTUS: 'Bona Fide' relationships

Examples of frankly in a Sentence

  1. You can speak frankly to us.

  2. frankly, I'd rather stay at home than go to the movies tonight

First Known Use of frankly

1537

frankly Synonyms

Synonyms
admittedly, forsooth, actually, honestly, indeed, really, truly, truthfully, verily
Related Words
absolutely, certainly, indisputably, indubitably, positively, realistically, undoubtedly, unquestionably, veritably

FRANKLY Defined for English Language Learners

frankly

play
adverb

Definition of frankly for English Language Learners

  • : in an honest and direct way

Learn More about frankly

  1. See words that rhyme with frankly Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for frankly Britannica English: Translation of frankly for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up frankly? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

tristful

play

sad or melancholy

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. bona fide Made in good faith

  2. surrogate mother From TMZ to the dictionary.

  3. zealot A fanatical partisan

  4. stonewall to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive

  5. scurrilous Containing obscenities, abuse, or slander

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

frankly

WORD GAMES

Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!

  • istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
  • Which is a synonym of garner?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Bee Cubed

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-5949565fc7d94
'Negging' Moves Beyond The Bar

Not just for pick-up artists anymore

alt-5947fc40f1b5c
In Tech, What Does 'K' Mean?

A buzzword with a long history.

alt-5951697e1a410
When To Use 'Specious' vs. 'Spurious'

These similar words are not interchangeable

alt-594bf2ec5f26e
Quick: Read This!

'Quick' once had a very different meaning

Ask the Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma
The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Summer's first WOTD quiz.

Take the quiz
alt-5941ad7527c3c
Yearbook Superlatives Quiz

Is that your picture under "Largest Vocabulary"?

Take the quiz
Name That Thing
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz
Bee Cubed
Bee Cubed

Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.

Play the game
Examples: frankly in a Sentence