bluntly
Americanadverb
-
starkly and directly, with no attempt to be tactful or diplomatic.
I always had a tendency to act in ways that are politically unwise—to bluntly say what I consider the truth.
To put it bluntly, that is a very poor piece of policy-making.
-
in a way that involves no subtlety or discernment.
It was one of those things that's so bluntly obvious, none of them really had to say anything about it.
The three-strikes law has been applied too broadly, too bluntly, with some people serving life sentences for relatively minor crimes.
-
without any sharp points or edges.
It has downy leaves and stems and small white flowers blooming in June, followed by bluntly triangular seedpods.
Etymology
Origin of bluntly
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.
Sherman, who has been in Congress since 1997, dismissed the generational-change argument bluntly.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
Torres captured the broader institutional despair bluntly when he admitted he lacked confidence in regulators but felt there was “no choice but to agitate for accountability.”
From Salon • May 9, 2026
"Because of a lack of social skills, social awareness and social norms, behaviour occurred which, put bluntly, shouldn't have."
From BBC • May 6, 2026
Outside, Ahmed, a voter originally from Iraq, put it more bluntly: “Twenty years ago, this didn’t exist,” he told me.
From Slate • Apr. 29, 2026
He came with a delegation and advised them bluntly to make each man sign a loyalty oath before allowing him to fly on a combat mission.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions 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.
