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.
The outspoken designer is renowned for his frank takes on the industry - previously calling social media games such as Farmville "evil" and World of Warcraft's quest design "unethical".
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Musk was for years outspoken about the threat he believed AI posed to humanity, and in 2015 helped create OpenAI to guard against it.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
As an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, Cumming sees “Tip Toe” as an opportunity to shake people up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Since the incident, Delangue has been outspoken about the need to preserve and promote access to high-quality, open-weight AI models so that potential cyberattack targets can effectively defend themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Russo was the more outspoken war critic, and it had gotten him fired.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
