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straightforwardness

noun

as in honesty
the free expression of one's true feelings and opinions not all of her voice students appreciate the straightforwardness with which she tells them that they're not going to make it as professional singers

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 straightforwardness 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 Mary Gaitskill is particularly good at this ideal combination of straightforwardness and pithiness. — 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straightforwardness
  1. honesty
  2. sincerity
  3. directness
  4. frankness
  5. forthrightness
  6. bluntness
Noun
  • Responding with curiosity instead of immediate defensiveness teaches people that honesty is useful rather than dangerous.
    — Kristina Aran, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Thrown together with him again, Billie has to confront the honesty and the deception that brought their relationship to an end.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 23 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
  • Rather than writing traditional Broadway show tunes, Sheik and Sater created a rock score that drew on the emotional directness of alternative music.
    — SPIN Staff, SPIN, 18 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of directness
Noun
  • The novel, published in 1988, foreshadowed the career to come by taking on, with disarming frankness, everything from child abuse to transracial adoption.
    — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Horgan, whose Catastrophe charted the ups and downs of a relationship with painful, hilarious honesty, applies the same frankness to the minor indignities of midlife.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of frankness
Noun
  • 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
Definition of forthrightness
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

Browse Nearby Words

straightforwardly
straightforwardness
straightness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Straightforwardness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straightforwardness. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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