FORTHRIGHTNESS Synonyms: 46 Similar and Opposite Words

forthrightness

noun

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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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 forthrightness Alvarado has had to address that in the wake of the film’s release, and perhaps that forthrightness has aided the box office. — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 22 July 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for forthrightness

Noun

That honesty is what turns AI from an experiment into something the business can trust.

— Matt Waxman, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
Her raw honesty in West End Girl likely led to the album’s widespread positive reception, Allen said.

— Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of honesty

Noun

Cox’s script, meanwhile, trades increasingly in one-size-fits-all therapy speak, and despite Qualley’s natural sincerity as a performer, Maya seems steadily less specific a personality as the years pass.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
Like Warhol, Rouy makes work balancing on the razor’s edge between sincerity and cynicism.

— David Lê, Curbed, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of sincerity

Noun

And the frankness underlying their oddly dorky connection also paints any potential relationship between them as tragic from the jump.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2026
Written with grimy, enlivening frankness — and an ability to dig into moral ambiguity — every character scrambles to get a leg up.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of frankness

Noun

Palace missed Sarr’s directness, with summer signing Dwight McNeil, Eddie Nketiah and Mateta not showing a full understanding.

— Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Marius, approaching 50, is a big doctor in this provincial city, not just a surgeon but the director of the hospital, and a man who prides himself on his directness and honesty.

— Jay Weissberg, Variety, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of directness

Noun

What Premier League clubs have shifted away from is — and apologies for the bluntness here — tolerating goalkeepers who aren’t good enough at saving shots.

— Michael Cox, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
The Venezuela native never shied away from bluntness — and profanity — in assessing players, plays, games or whatever.

— CBS News, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of bluntness

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

The loudest alarms back then came from outsiders — misfit investors like Michael Burry and academics like Raghuram Rajan — who got plenty of grief for their candor.

— Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 15 Sep. 2026
When a system can drop the fourth wall unprompted, ingest its own structural tells and re‑engage with unvarnished candor, the vulnerability shifts from deceptive compliance to authentic resonance.

— Terry Oroszi, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of candor

Noun

His father’s boss and mentor, the reformer Hu Yaobang, whose death in 1989 sparked the protests in Tiananmen Square, was known for his outspokenness, which played a crucial role in his political demise.

— Jonathan A. Czin, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of outspokenness

Browse Nearby Words

forthrightly

forthrightness

forthwith

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“Forthrightness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forthrightness. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of forthrightness

noun

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