as in honesty
the free expression of one's true feelings and opinions
the refreshing bluntness of the former president in assessing those who followed him in the Oval Office
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Recent Examples of bluntness
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
Claxton boiled it down to the same thing, only with a player’s bluntness.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 25 Jan. 2026
What mattered was not the bluntness of the phrase, but the calm delivery.
—Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
The bluntness of her cut is on full display, with the ends turning up ever so slightly.
—Elise Tabin, InStyle, 14 Jan. 2026
This team has responded well to that bluntness.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
Zenovich is stunned at his bluntness.
—Erin Jensen, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
Lulu Garcia-Navarro, host of The New York Times show The Interview, pressed Cowell on what the line was between bluntness and humiliation.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 1 Dec. 2025
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
Claxton boiled it down to the same thing, only with a player’s bluntness.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 25 Jan. 2026
What mattered was not the bluntness of the phrase, but the calm delivery.
—Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
The bluntness of her cut is on full display, with the ends turning up ever so slightly.
—Elise Tabin, InStyle, 14 Jan. 2026
This team has responded well to that bluntness.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
Zenovich is stunned at his bluntness.
—Erin Jensen, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
Lulu Garcia-Navarro, host of The New York Times show The Interview, pressed Cowell on what the line was between bluntness and humiliation.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 1 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bluntness
Noun
-
Choose honesty, and let support flow in.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Now, because of his imprudent and inaccurate sloganeering, even with a majority of his appointees sitting on the board, the mayor faces the prospect of a legal and political fiasco that implicates the honesty of his most prominent promise to his constituents.—
Christian Browne,
New York Daily News,
26 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
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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
-
Fulmer also delivers some comedic moments as Alycia, whose fast-talking frankness can be quite funny, albeit tone-deaf at times.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Her emotional frankness has also translated into measurable commercial impact.—
Amy Francombe,
Vogue,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The line is more powerful for its sober, clear-eyed directness.—
Aimee Cliff,
Pitchfork,
3 Apr. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
These direct relationships of mutual candor and trust have been vital in delivering wins for the state where others reeled.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Hartford Courant,
29 Mar. 2026
-
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
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
-
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
“Bluntness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bluntness. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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