frankly

adverb

frank·​ly ˈfraŋ-klē 

1

: in a frank manner

spoke frankly

2

: in truth : indeed

Frankly, I don't know.

Synonyms of frankly

• honestly
• actually
• really
• indeed

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

Aaliyah Puglia was the first person voted out of Survivor 51, which, frankly, sucks for her. — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Sep. 2026

And frankly, the best legislation comes out of very informed members of Congress debating issue sets. — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026

Most companies aren’t even looking, and frankly, that’s the best news in this article. — Boris Kulakhmetov, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026

Quite frankly, Travis Kelce doesn’t need football anymore, yet Sunday night provided a stark reminder of why football needs him. — Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1537, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for frankly

• blankly

Kids Definition

frankly

adverb

frank·​ly ˈfraŋ-klē 

1

: in a frank manner

you can speak frankly to us

2

: to tell the truth

frankly, I don't think it's wise