as in honesty
the free expression of one's true feelings and opinions
candidness is something that we claim to admire—except when we are on the receiving end of a brutally honest assessment
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Recent Examples of candidness
Some athletes early in this era proved that charisma and candidness coupled with their athletic skills could be highly lucrative.
—
Chantel Jennings, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
The duo have become known for their candidness and light-hearted humor, frequently letting viewers in on the chaos of their real lives.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 5 Jan. 2026
The title and author are set large in a text weight of Didot, echoing the candidness of the photo and the material.
—Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 11 Dec. 2025
Angela’s candidness on the season gave viewers a glimpse into her relationship with Charles, including the aftermath of the 2017 incident at Madison Square Garden and accusations of infidelity.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
Praised for her dry candidness and direct attitude online, Bethenny Frankel isn’t one to fall victim to a viral trend or product trap.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2025
The world sees the behavior but rarely the illness behind it; this is what makes Gucci’s candidness about his journey so critical.
—Essence, 23 Oct. 2025
Such welcome candidness to questions of spirituality is enough to move even a resolute non-believer like me.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
The candidness and vulnerability became the catalyst for her memoir, Cancer Is Complicated, out Tuesday.
—Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2025
Chantel Jennings, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
The duo have become known for their candidness and light-hearted humor, frequently letting viewers in on the chaos of their real lives.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 5 Jan. 2026
The title and author are set large in a text weight of Didot, echoing the candidness of the photo and the material.
—Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 11 Dec. 2025
Angela’s candidness on the season gave viewers a glimpse into her relationship with Charles, including the aftermath of the 2017 incident at Madison Square Garden and accusations of infidelity.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
Praised for her dry candidness and direct attitude online, Bethenny Frankel isn’t one to fall victim to a viral trend or product trap.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2025
The world sees the behavior but rarely the illness behind it; this is what makes Gucci’s candidness about his journey so critical.
—Essence, 23 Oct. 2025
Such welcome candidness to questions of spirituality is enough to move even a resolute non-believer like me.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
The candidness and vulnerability became the catalyst for her memoir, Cancer Is Complicated, out Tuesday.
—Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for candidness
Noun
-
Different interpretations of rhetoric Some argue that the criticism targeted the regime, and that many Iranians welcome blunt honesty.—
Erin Jones,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
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And the miscommunication there really is what sets them off on this terrible trajectory, which really didn’t have to happen if there was honesty there.—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Good Friday is a day to recognize the brutality of the Roman practice of crucifying criminals and to reflect with sincerity on the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for the world.—
Nicole Russell,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
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And Sonny’s sincerity is, in its way, the central engine of the action.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Fulmer also delivers some comedic moments as Alycia, whose fast-talking frankness can be quite funny, albeit tone-deaf at times.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Her emotional frankness has also translated into measurable commercial impact.—
Amy Francombe,
Vogue,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
These direct relationships of mutual candor and trust have been vital in delivering wins for the state where others reeled.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Hartford Courant,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Shinichi Atobe’s arresting house and techno beams with inimitable candor, built from bright, phlegmatic loops that run on an eccentric internal logic.—
Maxie Younger,
Pitchfork,
27 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
-
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
-
The line is more powerful for its sober, clear-eyed directness.—
Aimee Cliff,
Pitchfork,
3 Apr. 2026
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The directness with which the camera meets the eyes of the film’s subjects suggests compassion for their disfigurement and isolation (indeed, Farrokhzad adopted a boy from the colony), but there are no interviews.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Close is known for her bluntness and passion that has endeared her to fans and to her players.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
5 Apr. 2026
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Villa’s offensive bluntness has exacerbated other wrinkles within Emery’s collective structure.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Candidness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/candidness. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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