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frankly

adverb
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frank·​ly | \ ˈfraŋ-klē How to pronounce frankly (audio) \

Definition of frankly

1 : in a frank manner spoke frankly
2 : in truth : indeed frankly, I don't know
Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about frankly

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Examples of frankly in a Sentence

You can speak frankly to us. frankly, I'd rather stay at home than go to the movies tonight
Recent Examples on the Web How the procedure, frankly, felt less invasive than a standard gynecological visit. — Danielle Campoamor, Teen Vogue, "39 Abortion Stories Show Just How Important Abortion Access Is," 9 Jan. 2020 The production, with black rehearsal blocks serving for most of the set pieces, is understated and frankly underacted. — Christopher Arnott, courant.com, "Review: The inaugural Hartford Fringe Festival showing growing pains, but deserves a bigger audience," 21 Oct. 2019 Unlike his more measured twin brother, Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro, the congressman is apt to express himself freely and frankly. — Elaine Ayala, ExpressNews.com, "Blunt Twitter talk from an archbishop and a congressman," 8 Aug. 2019 That just reflects what's happening in our home states, frankly, in some of our families. — CBS News, "Transcript: Chris Coons and James Lankford on "Face the Nation," December 29, 2019," 29 Dec. 2019 And now: a new kind of scooter that looks, frankly, more like a moped. — Hannah K. Sparling, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati in line to get moped-like, seated scooters," 18 Dec. 2019 Bindings, after all, are the link between snowboarder and snowboard, and early bindings were hardly rideable and, frankly, dangerous. — Drew Zieff, Popular Mechanics, "Jake Burton Carpenter, Snowboarding’s Famous DIYer, Dies at 65," 22 Nov. 2019 Popular culture suggests that human beings fall into two categories: those who like spending time with others and those who, frankly, would rather not. — Patia Braithwaite, SELF, "How to Deal With Traveling in a Group When You Don’t Love People," 25 Oct. 2019 And frankly, that’s good to hear for MetroHealth’s sake. — Leila Atassi, cleveland.com, "How Ohio City residents fought for one property to serve the greater good - and won," 16 Sep. 2019

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

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First Known Use of frankly

1537, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Time Traveler for frankly

Time Traveler

The first known use of frankly was in 1537

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Statistics for frankly

Last Updated

16 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Frankly.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frankly. Accessed 26 January 2020.

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More Definitions for frankly

frankly

adverb
How to pronounce frankly (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of frankly

: in an honest and direct way

See the full definition for frankly in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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More from Merriam-Webster on frankly

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for frankly

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with frankly

Britannica English: Translation of frankly for Arabic Speakers

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