How to Use directness in a Sentence

directness

noun
  • This record, almost all of them have that directness about them.
    — Grant Sharples, SPIN, 28 Apr. 2023
  • There was directness and purpose to his play, even in that short spell.
    — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Some want directness and stats, some just want to chat about their family.
    — Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025
  • Malen has the pace and directness but tends to make runs inside rather than be a wide outlet.
    — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The city inspired his sense of directness on the album.
    — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 15 Aug. 2025
  • The line is more powerful for its sober, clear-eyed directness.
    — Aimee Cliff, Pitchfork, 3 Apr. 2026
  • That directness takes a distinct form in each artist’s practice.
    — Miguel Sirgado, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2026
  • But others would find such directness startling, cold, or abrupt.
    — Erika W. Smith, refinery29.com, 30 Jan. 2020
  • His floppy hair swoops back off his forehead with the same dip and curl, his eyes have the same savvy directness.
    — Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2021
  • Radha asked, with the directness of a doctor’s child.
    — Sam Lipsyte, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Still, the soft directness of her eyes and voice was more intimate than my question.
    — Mary Gaitskill, The New Yorker, 8 July 2019
  • Take the lead and then play with urgency, speed and directness on the counter-attack.
    — Paul Taylor, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
  • Guettel’s score is worth waiting for, even constrained by the directness of the premise.
    — Vulture, 6 June 2023
  • That directness, JayQuan says, is hip-hop’s biggest gift to the world.
    — Abraham Swee, USA Today, 29 June 2026
  • The directness of Mars was apparent on my trip.
    — Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 28 Nov. 2025
  • It’s meant to be as is her ability to pluck him from the clouds and pin him to the table with her directness.
    — Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
  • But that frank directness of approach allows for real wit to enter in, as well.
    — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 13 Jan. 2022
  • Rupe’s directness extends to his support for those who work on the local theater scene.
    — Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel, 22 Sep. 2022
  • Kudos to Ronen, but such directness should have happened a long time ago.
    — Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 June 2021
  • But the earnestness at the root of this directness is the great strength of Bedford Falls.
    — Jack Butler, National Review, 25 Dec. 2023
  • Early on, the client read his directness as arrogance.
    — Luis Peralta, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
  • Intense from the get-go, there’s something about the directness of its bassline that resonates no matter what.
    — Raisa Bruner, Time, 8 Jan. 2020
  • But that directness may have been precisely what appealed to Biden.
    — Editorial Board Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 11 Aug. 2020
  • Her directness about body image and mental health has brought her an audience of people a lot like her.
    — Hugh Morris, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2023
  • In fact, candidness, directness, and drive are the name of the game as the planets start to stack up in Aries.
    — Gala Mukomolova, refinery29.com, 4 Apr. 2021
  • The directness and the candor may be, in part, because federal judges are seated on the bench for life.
    — Tierney Sneed, CNN, 13 Aug. 2021
  • Burton was charmed by Solberg's directness and sense of humor.
    — Francesca Street, CNN, 9 May 2022
  • Scott is an advocate for honesty and directness even in the best of circumstances.
    — Sarah Todd, Quartz at Work, 9 Apr. 2020
  • Davis said he also was helped by the emotional directness of the Finnish people.
    — Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune, 24 Jan. 2022
  • Some of Lacy’s directness comes from his relationship with death.
    — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'directness.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: