as in honesty
the free expression of one's true feelings and opinions
the refreshing bluntness of the former president in assessing those who followed him in the Oval Office
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bluntness
With Dutch bluntness, Van Gaal had informed Carrick that the 2016 FA Cup final would be Carrick’s last match.
—
Michael Walker, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
She’s built a career on candid takes about relationships, work and the absurdities of everyday life, delivered with her trademark mix of bluntness and charm.
—Travis Pinson, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026
Claxton boiled it down to the same thing, only with a player’s bluntness.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 25 Jan. 2026
What mattered was not the bluntness of the phrase, but the calm delivery.
—Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
The bluntness of her cut is on full display, with the ends turning up ever so slightly.
—Elise Tabin, InStyle, 14 Jan. 2026
This team has responded well to that bluntness.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
Zenovich is stunned at his bluntness.
—Erin Jensen, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
Lulu Garcia-Navarro, host of The New York Times show The Interview, pressed Cowell on what the line was between bluntness and humiliation.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 1 Dec. 2025
Michael Walker, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
She’s built a career on candid takes about relationships, work and the absurdities of everyday life, delivered with her trademark mix of bluntness and charm.
—Travis Pinson, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026
Claxton boiled it down to the same thing, only with a player’s bluntness.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 25 Jan. 2026
What mattered was not the bluntness of the phrase, but the calm delivery.
—Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
The bluntness of her cut is on full display, with the ends turning up ever so slightly.
—Elise Tabin, InStyle, 14 Jan. 2026
This team has responded well to that bluntness.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
Zenovich is stunned at his bluntness.
—Erin Jensen, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
Lulu Garcia-Navarro, host of The New York Times show The Interview, pressed Cowell on what the line was between bluntness and humiliation.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 1 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bluntness
Noun
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Playing the title role of a linguistics professor who faces changes and prepares her family for what's to come as the disease takes hold, Moore navigates the character arc with honesty and heart-tugging empathy.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Being a good role model shows your child how to behave with kindness, honesty, and respect.—
Barrie Gillies,
Parents,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Her stylistic choices are warm, unique, and grounded in sincerity.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
15 Mar. 2026
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While fashion has a long history of subverting religious motifs, Spradlin said the colors reflect a shift to sincerity, adding that Gen Z and millennials are outpacing older cohorts in church attendance.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Her emotional frankness has also translated into measurable commercial impact.—
Amy Francombe,
Vogue,
4 Mar. 2026
-
The cast rises to the challenge of Churchill’s rapid-fire, often overlapping dialogue, with comedic highlights including Pope Joan’s coarse frankness and Dull Gret’s unexpected interjections.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Mangiapane appreciates the coach’s directness.—
Kalen Lumpkins,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Mar. 2026
-
That directness takes a distinct form in each artist’s practice.—
Miguel Sirgado,
Miami Herald,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Fortune spoke with six people who have invested in Anthropic to get a sense of how this key constituency is feeling about the situation, and found that opinions were not unified despite the company’s longstanding forthrightness about its values.—
Jessica Mathews,
Fortune,
5 Mar. 2026
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WalletHub has studied deferred interest since 2012, periodically flagging retailers that offer the loans and rating their financing offers on transparency and forthrightness.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
28 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Audiences and critics alike have praised the character’s honesty and candor.—
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
14 Mar. 2026
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Meanwhile, nuclear weapons did not shock the world’s leaders into a new era of peace and candor, as Bohr had hoped.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Mary Gaitskill is particularly good at this ideal combination of straightforwardness and pithiness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
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Her question, in Lipe-Smith’s inquisitive piccolo of a voice, is heartbreaking in its blend of straightforwardness and desperate desire, as is her mother’s wavering response.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The outspokenness of the Winter Olympic athletes echoes a dramatic protest by Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos which electrified the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
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Their outspokenness has drawn some criticism.—
Zach Schonfeld,
The Hill,
19 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bluntness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bluntness. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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