bluntly
Americanadverb
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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.
“I’m dipping nuggets you’ve never heard of into sources you could never understand,” she declares bluntly, causing us to cackle out of sheer surprise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
"I think that's nonsense, if I can put it bluntly."
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
The Trump-endorsed front-runner for the seat put it more bluntly still: “The fact that the Republicans have an ability to regain the seat is great. I love it.”
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
Put bluntly, you’d be replacing income with debt.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
I asked bluntly, that being the first time I had ever had the nerve.
From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley
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.
