as in honesty
the free expression of one's true feelings and opinions
I valued her forthrightness in telling me she didn't like being called "Susie"
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Recent Examples of forthrightness
Your forthrightness will set the tone for future dates.
—
Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 6 June 2026
There’s something both startling and seductive about such forthrightness.
—Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026
To say we are disappointed by the lack of urgency and forthrightness from the city attorney’s office is an understatement.
—City News Service, Daily News, 8 Apr. 2026
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
Monique’s penchant for forthrightness, almost to the point of abruptness, is what makes her reintegration to the cast fascinating already.
—Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
For parents, the name of the game is forthrightness.
—Nona Han, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
The elections have vindicated Move Forward’s forthrightness, confirming that citizens want a national conversation about the monarchy.
—Tamara Loos, Foreign Affairs, 25 May 2023
Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 6 June 2026
There’s something both startling and seductive about such forthrightness.
—Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026
To say we are disappointed by the lack of urgency and forthrightness from the city attorney’s office is an understatement.
—City News Service, Daily News, 8 Apr. 2026
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
Monique’s penchant for forthrightness, almost to the point of abruptness, is what makes her reintegration to the cast fascinating already.
—Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
For parents, the name of the game is forthrightness.
—Nona Han, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
The elections have vindicated Move Forward’s forthrightness, confirming that citizens want a national conversation about the monarchy.
—Tamara Loos, Foreign Affairs, 25 May 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forthrightness
Noun
-
The qualities that sustain healthy families, including honesty, accountability, forgiveness, and sacrifice, cannot be purchased or given.—
David H. Rosmarin,
Time,
10 June 2026
-
The focus was on honesty in materials and construction, simple forms, and harmonious indoor-outdoor spaces, with plenty of room left over for personal flourishes that reflected the spirit of the site and lifestyle of the young family, including their 5-year-old daughter, Stevie.—
Wendy Bowman,
Robb Report,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
There was such calm, quiet sincerity on his part.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
14 June 2026
-
Darry Sragow, a veteran Democratic strategist who advised Checchi, said Steyer’s focus on such causes had the potential to be meaningful to voters who are often skeptical about the sincerity and motives of rich candidates.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
Seydoux asks me in a moment of frankness.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
18 May 2026
-
Her love for the city is palpable, imbued with her frankness, her fun, her queerness, and her history.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Early on, the client read his directness as arrogance.—
Luis Peralta,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
-
There is a remarkable lightness to Tuchel, a candour and directness.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
Mary Gaitskill is particularly good at this ideal combination of straightforwardness and pithiness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
-
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
-
When candor carries hidden penalties, leaders learn to preserve standing.—
Britton Bloch,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
-
For all its candor about current stress, Goldman is ultimately making a bull case—grounded in specific structural shifts.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
His outspokenness has spurred discourse among country music's Republican-leaning audience.—
Mars Salazar,
Austin American Statesman,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The actor recently reflected on his political outspokenness in an interview with Vanity Fair.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forthrightness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forthrightness. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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