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forthright

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forthright¹

  • /ˈfɔːθˌɹaɪt/ UK
  • /ˈfɔɹθˌɹaɪt/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English forþright, forþriʒt, forþriht, from Old English forþriht (“direct, plain”). By surface analysis, forth + right.

adjective more forthright · most forthright

  1. Straightforward; not evasive; candid and direct. The witness was considered eminently credible thanks to her forthright answers.

    Similar: out-front

  2. Frank, outspoken. TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes was typically forthright in his criticism by claiming that Sunak had "blatantly failed" to cure "a growing tragedy", as "every single day, more and more families can't make ends meet".
  3. Markedly simple.
  4. Fixed; settled; decided.
  5. archaic Proceeding straight forth.

noun forthrights

  1. archaic A straight path. Gonzalo: […]Here's a maze trod indeed / Through forth-rights and meanders !

forthright²

  • /fɔːθˈɹaɪt/ UK

Where it comes from

From Middle English forthright, forþriʒt, forthricte, from Old English forþrihte (“straightway, at once, plainly”), from forþriht + -e (“adverbial suffix”). By surface analysis, forth + right.

adverb more forthright · most forthright

  1. Expressly, frankly, unhesitatingly.
  2. At once, forthwith.
  3. Swiftly.
  4. archaic Straight forward, in a straight direction.

Translations

Every language

adj straightforward; not evasive

Españolfranco, directo
Françaisdirect, sans hésitation
Deutschgeradeaus, direkt
Italianoschietto, diretto
Ελληνικάειλικρινής eilikrinís, μετά παρρησίας metá parrisías

adj frank, outspoken

Françaisfranc, direct
Deutschunverblümt
Italianoschietto, franco

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Cite this
MLA

"forthright." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/forthright. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

forthright. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/forthright

Chicago

"forthright." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/forthright.

BibTeX
@misc{forthright_2026,
  title = {forthright},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/forthright},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}