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
Another cabinet minister told me in recent weeks Starmer has been "bluntly self critical" and has recognised privately that he has to step up.
From BBC • May 9, 2026
He’s “not a big fan of Pope Leo,” the president says bluntly.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 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
“Before you two hopeless cases go off the deep end,” he said bluntly, “may I ask a question: Have you been putting these poison mushrooms in our food?”
From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos
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.
