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
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
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
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
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
-
When Saint Harison released his EP Lost a Friend in 2023, the songs felt like diary entries set to velvet production, full of intimate spiraling and steeped in late-night honesty.—
Gabrielle Nicole Pharms,
Rolling Stone,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Jacobs is a real find as Matt, exhibiting a touch of honesty and authenticity that matches his co-star’s in every way.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Some have gone further, publicly chewing khat on the campaign trail, a gesture that signals solidarity and which has become something of a ritual in Kenyan electoral cycles, with aspiring leaders competing to demonstrate the sincerity of their commitment to khat farmers and traders.—
Joseph Maina,
semafor.com,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The sincerity of this aim can sometimes run counter to the sharp, excruciatingly realistic satire that’s previously been the show’s bailiwick, and sometimes still is.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Her emotional frankness has also translated into measurable commercial impact.—
Amy Francombe,
Vogue,
4 Mar. 2026
-
The cast rises to the challenge of Churchill’s rapid-fire, often overlapping dialogue, with comedic highlights including Pope Joan’s coarse frankness and Dull Gret’s unexpected interjections.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
It was simply presented, with a split screen between the actor onstage and the casting director in the audience, and the directness of the actors’ messages came through both to the nominees and to viewers.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Villa’s offensive bluntness has exacerbated other wrinkles within Emery’s collective structure.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
-
She’s built a career on candid takes about relationships, work and the absurdities of everyday life, delivered with her trademark mix of bluntness and charm.—
Travis Pinson,
Dallas Morning News,
29 Jan. 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
-
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
-
The second was a charge of a lack of candor during the Ethics Commitee’s investigation.—
Claire Heddles,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The actor recently reflected on his political outspokenness in an interview with Vanity Fair.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Mar. 2026
-
The outspokenness of the Winter Olympic athletes echoes a dramatic protest by Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos which electrified the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forthrightness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forthrightness. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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