straightforward
Americanadjective
-
going or directed straight ahead.
a straightforward gaze.
-
not roundabout or evasive; direct.
straightforward criticism;
a straightforward approach to a problem.
-
free from ambiguity; clear.
straightforward instructions.
-
free from crookedness or deceit; honest.
straightforward in one's dealings.
- Antonyms:
- devious
adverb
adjective
-
(of a person) honest, frank, or simple
-
(of a task, etc) simple; easy
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of straightforward
Explanation
Straightforward means direct in your approach. When you have a favor to ask of a friend, don't beat around the bush––say what you need in a straightforward way. If you want to propose marriage, you might go for the straightforward approach, saying, "Want to get married?" over dinner. Straightforward can also mean honest. If you have straightforward intentions, it means you're upfront about what you're trying to do.
Vocabulary lists containing straightforward
Nothing But the Truth
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And Then There Were None
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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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.
Quantum mechanics, however, reveals that particles can behave in ways that have no straightforward counterpart in our ordinary experience.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Those caveats aside, it tells a very straightforward story.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
The process, guided by the app, is relatively straightforward: fill the test with saliva by sucking on it for 60 seconds, wait 20 minutes, scan the test, get results.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
For him, its message is a straightforward one - that "men should talk to each other a bit more about what they are feeling and how they are processing things".
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Thus Copernicanism posed a straightforward question: What sort of planet is the earth?
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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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.
