BLUNTNESS Synonyms: 46 Similar and Opposite Words

bluntness

noun

Definition of bluntness

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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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of bluntness With his usual bluntness, Jokic said the Nuggets weren’t a good enough team to win last season based on the results. — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 26 June 2026 And thanks to his bluntness, something clicked. — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 19 June 2026 Slot, as head coach, was more of a middle manager; someone who acted with the objectivity of a civil servant and the occasional bluntness of a corrections officer. — Simon Hughes, New York Times, 30 May 2026 Rise and fall But Healy, with her characteristic bluntness, didn’t sugar-coat what happened to that law. — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 May 2026 If a culture prizes bluntness, ask where honesty has been missing. — Sarah Davanzo, Rolling Stone, 11 May 2026 But the bluntness of the lyrics arrives just as quickly, undercutting the atmosphere by naming too plainly what the music had already begun to evoke with greater force. — Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 30 Apr. 2026 Queen Elizabeth loved Kelly’s pragmatic bluntness and viewed her as an incredibly loyal friend. — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2026 Inspired by the super cropped bobs of the roaring 1920s, the French bob is similar to a one-length short bob, but sans any harsh bluntness. — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 14 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bluntness

Noun

Also known as the money plant or honesty, lunaria (Lunaria annua) is an intriguing biennial that produces clusters of purple flowers during the first year of growth and silver, paper-like seed pods the second year, then dies.

— Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 July 2026
The honesty and objectivity of Stars and Stripes can’t be overemphasized.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 13 July 2026

Definition of honesty

Noun

What appears to be true, however, is that Flick is prioritizing pace and directness while learning that in modern football, the best teams have several options down the flank to provide support to the likes of Lamine Yamal.

— Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
In a tournament defined by vertical runs, through balls and dinks, Olise has been France’s main conductor, synthesising their high-pressing intensity and directness with creative rhythm.

— Sukhman Singh, New York Times, 29 June 2026

Definition of directness

Noun

Concealment is what a smart person does inside a system that punishes candor.

— Mark Murphy, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Below are other notes regarding the Mets and the trade deadline based on conversations with club sources and executives from other clubs, all of whom were granted anonymity in exchange for candor.

— Will Sammon, New York Times, 6 July 2026

Definition of candor

Noun

But the Windows handheld software experience on the Claw is just awful compared to the straightforwardness of SteamOS on the Steam Deck.

— Jay Peters, The Verge, 23 June 2026
On Monday morning, Starmer, whose resignation has appeared inevitable for some time, delivered the news with his customary straightforwardness.

— Sam Knight, New Yorker, 22 June 2026

Definition of straightforwardness

Noun

Her political outspokenness and fearlessness in challenging the danger women face in flaunting their sexuality, particularly in her native Argentina, is one of her strengths, as is her ability to imagine a new world where that violence doesn’t exist.

— E.R. Pulgar, Pitchfork, 11 June 2026
His outspokenness has spurred discourse among country music's Republican-leaning audience.

— Mars Salazar, Austin American Statesman, 2 Apr. 2026

Definition of outspokenness

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bluntly

bluntness

blunts

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“Bluntness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bluntness. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of bluntness

noun

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