downright

[doun-rahyt]

adjective

1. thorough; absolute; out-and-out.

   a downright falsehood.

2. frankly direct; straightforward.

   a downright person.

   Synonyms: blunt, frank, open, forthright, candid

3. Archaic.,  directed straight downward.

   a downright blow.

adverb

1. completely or thoroughly.

   I'm not just upset—I'm downright angry.

downright

/ ˈdaʊnˌraɪt /

adjective

1. frank or straightforward; blunt

   downright speech

2. archaic,  directed or pointing straight down

adverb

1. (intensifier)

   a downright certainty

   downright rude

Other Word Forms

• downrightness noun
• downrightly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of downright¹

Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; down ¹, right

Example Sentences

As for the pictures, they’re shrouded in ominous shadows, but although the raven’s eyes burn like embers, the bird does nothing worse than cry “nevermore,” and Lenore, when she appears, looks downright comely.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"Speculation is unhelpful and can be downright dangerous, so I just ask that people lower the temperature of the rhetoric," she said.

Read more on BBC

The movie reveals itself to you, layer by layer, incident by incident, in a way that becomes downright intoxicating.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

If you think about it long enough, the sport as it exists within American culture is downright dystopic, garnering fanaticism that drives players to violent ends.

Read more on Salon

So it was downright terrifying when McLachlan almost lost this voice last November, when a viral infection silenced it while she was preparing for the Canadian leg of her “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy” anniversary tour.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• damned 
• outright