overtly

adverb

overt·​ly ō-ˈvərt-lē How to pronounce overtly (audio)
ˈō-(ˌ)vərt-
: in an overt manner : in a way that is open, straightforward, or obvious
an overtly hostile remark
an overtly political message
… the fashion of dumbing down the public discourse was over. Being overtly brainy, simply being oneself, was back in style.Elizabeth Drew
In the late 1860's interest gradually waned in landscape paintings that overtly conveyed nationalistic, philosophical, and religious meanings.Franklin Kelly
It is now easier for French writers to write more overtly about the occupation because their country is now stressing reconciliation, forgiveness for whatever wrongs were done then …Barbara Probst Solomon

Examples of overtly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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One thing that was extraordinarily demoralizing about this process was that we got rejected from every mainstream festival that wasn’t overtly LGBTQ. Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 10 Nov. 2025 No World Cup has been less about the self-aggrandizement of the hosts and yet no World Cup has ever been so overtly political as the 1938 tournament, as exiles from Germany and Italy took the opportunity to make very public their opposition to fascism. Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025 Newsom made no secret of his strategy to turn the ballot measure into a referendum on the president, confident that anger towards the administration would be enough to overcome resistance to an overtly partisan move. Douglas Schoen, Oc Register, 6 Nov. 2025 While administration officials have avoided overtly saying their goal is regime change — Trump has focused his public remarks on fighting drug cartels — the ultimate goal of democratizing Venezuela, and the resulting investment benefits, are front and center in investors’ minds. Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 4 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for overtly

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of overtly was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Overtly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overtly. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.

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