matter-of-factly

adverb

as in candidly

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 matter-of-factly Elliott matter-of-factly told the story about his name, as well the later discovery through 23andMe of his biological father’s likely identity and the confirmed existence of many half siblings, just by pushing a button. — Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 5 Aug. 2026 The late George is still widely hailed as having been Little Feat’s most visionary member and Payne matter-of-factly refers to him as both a mentor and a genius. — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Aug. 2026 The tech is terrifying, but it’s treated matter-of-factly, played for barked laughs. — Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 12 June 2026 This is presented upsettingly matter-of-factly — sudden, and just out of frame. — Blake Simons, IndieWire, 18 May 2026 Jason Collins had written it so matter-of-factly. — Chad De Guzman, Time, 13 May 2026 My mother reported her friends’ upheavals to me matter-of-factly. — Jennifer Acker, PEOPLE, 8 May 2026 Victims' families packed the courtroom, weeping as Heuermann matter-of-factly answered each of the prosecutor's questions. — Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2026 When Frank asked him why a saint would visit a short, chubby guy with glasses who played goalie, Gus said very matter-of-factly that it was well known that ordinary folks and the poor often received such visions. — David McGrath, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for matter-of-factly
  1. candidly
  2. frankly
  3. openly
  4. nonchalantly
  5. casually
  6. coolly
Adverb
  • While some social media users criticized Ratajkowski as being out of touch with the realities facing many single mothers, others praised her for candidly discussing divorce, dating and motherhood.
    — Sarah Sotoodeh, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The advantage might go to the side that can face its problems most candidly.
    — Evan Osnos, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of candidly
Adverb
  • His family immigrated to New York in the Ellis Island era a little over 100 years ago and, frankly, nobody wanted to hire them.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Have any of you guys been haunted by the frankly upsetting scene in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey in which Circe cooks what can only be described as a very messed up stew?
    — Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 31 July 2026
Definition of frankly
Adverb
  • Most telling is how openly Stassi disdains the idea of therapy, even insisting to the horror of pretty much everyone else onscreen that forcing hard conversations on reality TV is her therapy.
    — Caroline Framke, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The honest move is to redesign the coordination function openly.
    — Pallavi Mahajan, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of openly
Adverb
  • William Saliba — France/Arsenal (position unchanged) Gave up almost nothing to his Arsenal team-mate Gyokeres as France nonchalantly dismissed Sweden, dominating in the air and on the floor while distributing the ball sensibly.
    — Liam Twomey, New York Times, 4 July 2026
  • And then, right as Joe’s already prevalent rage is on the precipice of going nuclear, a CGI giraffe nonchalantly strolls past a third-story window in the background.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2026
Definition of nonchalantly
Adverb
  • The warehouse manager casually replies, 'Oh, that's Customer X's inventory.
    — Natalie Lemke, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Wear these wide-leg capris casually around the house or to run errands, and then dress them up with a blouse and heels for the evening.
    — Mia Huelsbeck, PEOPLE, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of casually
Adverb
  • After controlling the ball twice with his head, Bouanga sprinted into the box and coolly lifted it over goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland and into the net.
    — Josh Gross, Daily News, 26 July 2026
  • Introspection is hardly foreign to country music, but Langley’s coolly reflective approach stands out in a genre defined by social collisions—by scenes of cowboys and cowgirls settling scores.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 23 July 2026
Definition of coolly

Browse Nearby Words

matter-of-fact
matter-of-factly
matters
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Matter-of-factly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/matter-of-factly. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All