outspoken
Americanadjective
-
uttered or expressed with frankness or without reserve.
outspoken criticism.
-
free or unreserved in speech.
- Antonyms:
- taciturn
verb
adjective
-
candid or bold in speech
-
said or expressed with candour or boldness
Synonym Usage
See frank 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of outspoken
Explanation
If you often freely speak your mind, people may say that you are outspoken. How people view that particular trait in you, however, will depend on whether they agree with what you have to say or not! Use the adjective outspoken to describe someone candid and blunt, one who is direct in manner or speech. If you are an outspoken advocate for arts education in schools, you probably attend lots of school board and community meetings trying to ensure that the board does not cut music and drama from the school curriculum. If you are an outspoken critic of the way your boss does his job, you may not have yours much longer!
Vocabulary lists containing outspoken
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 3
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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ACT Reading Test: Words to Capture Tone, List 5
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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.
Meieran has been outspoken about the challenges of running a large nightlife business downtown but held onto the brand, he says, because Clifton’s is a rarity, a unique only-in-California business.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
Hamilton has been especially outspoken on this topic.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
But in the penultimate episode, Blunt and Sheen stumbled on to a theory that the quiet contestants were more suspicious than their outspoken brethren.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
Palantir is an outspoken critic of frontier AI labs and has positioned itself as an option for enterprises seeking more control over their AI stacks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
That is not to say, however, that he was rude or outspoken or blunt in any way.
From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley
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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.
