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

Both parties derive a whole lot of value from their association, which frankly nobody wants to see come to an end. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 14 Aug. 2026

And their response has been, frankly, to not say anything about anything. — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2026

Because again, Goodyear had underinvested in quite frankly all three of those, and one was kind of a messy part of the world with Dunlop. — Joel Feder, The Drive, 12 Aug. 2026

Take Cincinnati lawyer Phil Pitzer, who took advantage of a long and frankly very sad legal quagmire to obtain the sequel rights toEasy Rider in the early 2010s. — Katie Rife, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 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