frankly
Americanadverb
adverb
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(sentence modifier) in truth; to be honest
frankly, I can't bear him
-
in a frank manner
Etymology
Origin of frankly
Explanation
To say something frankly is to be completely honest and straightforward. It's unusual when a politician answers reporters' questions frankly. When someone's frank, they are plainspoken and truthful, and when you communicate frankly, your words have this quality. Telling people frankly that you need their help, or expressing criticism frankly but kindly can be difficult at times, but it's something to strive for. Frank and frankly have a Medieval Latin root, francus, "free, or at liberty."
Vocabulary lists containing frankly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Quite frankly, we simply can’t afford it,” said Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan’s finance minister.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
"So frankly, it doesn't tell anything at this point except that there is a lot of potential revenue growth out of providing frontier generative AI models."
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
He said the amount of tax they pay is "piffling, frankly".
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
You could meet each other halfway, which is the easy option, frankly.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
The costume had been for Di Shturem: The Yiddish Tempest, when Molly had played the villain, the vengeful sheyd, Chenya, her frankly inspired take on Shakespeare’s Caliban.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
