CANDIDLY Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

candidly

adverb

Definition of candidly

as in openly

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Example Sentences

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 candidly The New York Mets, according to multiple league sources who were granted anonymity to speak candidly, have also called pitches from the dugout. — Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 22 July 2026 Twain's family struggled financially, and the singer has spoken candidly about growing up in poverty and witnessing domestic abuse at home. — Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 21 July 2026 The reporter was granted anonymity to speak candidly about reporting techniques. — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 20 July 2026 Sporty Spice spoke candidly about pairing with her now-husband on the dating app Raya before going on their first date in November 2023. — Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 19 July 2026 Another Republican strategist, speaking on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss internal party dynamics, said Graham represented a fading faction within the GOP. — Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 13 July 2026 Entrepreneurs often have very few environments where people speak candidly to them. — Robert Balentine, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for candidly

Adverb

Current and former officials have spoken openly about their assessments that the Chinese government has obtained data on almost every American.

— Michael Scherer, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026
What often shapes public perception is whether a company communicates openly, cooperates with regulators, and demonstrates a willingness to take immediate corrective action.

— Gary Occhiogrosso, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

Definition of openly

Adverb

Leaders must honestly review past performance, confronting uncomfortable truths rather than defending old decisions.

— Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
The historian Eugen Weber wrote influentially of how peasants who spoke languages like Occitan, Breton, or Basque became—or, more honestly, were made—Frenchmen.

— Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 20 July 2026

Definition of honestly

Adverb

Firmer than rib eye but just as rich and, frankly, more consistently well-marbled than most other cuts, it can be cooked like steak (to medium or medium-rare), or braised to full shreddy-ness.

— Chris Morocco, Bon Appetit Magazine, 17 July 2026
However, the pressure is on both Smith and the Jets, quite frankly, to produce in 2026.

— Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 16 July 2026

Definition of frankly

Adverb

Foley has been the one board member who has forthrightly stood up for oversight and accountability on every key issue.

— The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 16 Apr. 2026
Coming off the ice, Malinin forthrightly congratulated the winner, Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan, as if to communicate that Shaidorov won the prize from his own efforts, not from Malinin’s failure.

— Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026

Definition of forthrightly

Adverb

Evil Dead Burn isn’t as baldly hateful toward women as the hypersuccessful, low budget Obsession.

— Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 10 July 2026
Pinney’s fantasies and visual metaphors are sometimes more poignant in concept than in execution, and a theme of Ray’s crude racist impulses is baldly inserted but left undeveloped.

— Richard Brody, New Yorker, 12 June 2026

Definition of baldly

Adverb

Not the layoffs, the mergers, the rampant unemployment, and the fear that comes with it — all of that and more unreservedly sucks.

— Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 9 July 2026
At once pugnaciously combative and unreservedly sentimental, Landon chose to take the series out with a commentary on class revolt.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026

Definition of unreservedly

Adverb

Now, fresh off one of the most straightforwardly terrible albums of the decade, here comes the Muse Mothership again.

— Liam Inscoe-Jones, Pitchfork, 1 July 2026
Perhaps the cleanest rebuke of noisy nativism would be for England to win, and, if Tuchel can take that final step that eluded Southgate, he’ll be immortalized, too—perhaps in a prestige miniseries of his own, and a more straightforwardly triumphal one at that.

— Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 18 June 2026

Definition of straightforwardly

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candidates

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“Candidly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/candidly. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of candidly

adverb

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