unvarnished

[ uhn-vahr-nisht ]

/ ʌnˈvɑr nɪʃt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unvarnished ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

plain; clear; straightforward; without vagueness or subterfuge; frank: the unvarnished truth.

unfinished, as floors or furniture; not coated with or as if with varnish.

Nearby words

unusually, unutterable, unvaccinated, unvalued, unvanquished, unvarnished, unvarnished truth, unvarying, unveil, unveiled, unveiling

Origin of unvarnished

First recorded in 1595–1605; un-¹ + varnish + -ed³, -ed²

SYNONYMS FOR unvarnished

1 bare, naked, candid, direct.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unvarnished ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for unvarnished

Obama, of course, insisted he wanted their independent, unvarnished judgments.
Obama’s Panel on Domestic Spying Abuses Didn’t Pull Its Punches|Daniel Klaidman|December 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Of all the Gang of Eight senators, he was the most unvarnished in his advocacy and he has the most to lose.
Lindsey Graham Wasn't Afraid to Fight for Immigration Reform|John Avlon|June 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It serves the facts straight up; it is unvarnished, perhaps a little cold, and not very cheerful, but it is realistic.
The End of American Dominance in Robert Kaplan’s ‘The Revenge of Geography’|Ian Morris|September 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And plenty of people speak of this immigration and its supposed dangers as if these were unvarnished, unquestionable truths.
The Irony of the Anti-Immigration Violence in Assam|Dilip D’Souza|August 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST

I do not begrudge the journalist for pursuing the unvarnished truth, irrespective of political consequences.
In Defense of Israel Advocacy|David Bernstein|July 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
That p. 43which gives its deep and awful power to the picture is its simple, unstrained, unvarnished truthfulness.
The Ethics of George Eliot's Works|John Crombie Brown
What I saw was deeply interesting intelligence to me, and unvarnished truths I was listening and reading at the same time.
Stanley's Adventures in the Wilds of Africa|Joel Tyler Headley and William Fletcher Johnson
Rosemary had written home and told the plain, unvarnished, brutal truth.
The Head Girl at the Gables|Angela Brazil
She seemed perfectly sure that what she was telling was the straight, unvarnished truth.
Georgina's Service Stars|Annie Fellows Johnston
He was a plain, unvarnished villain, and he never hesitated for a moment to let people see it.
Earl Hubert's Daughter|Emily Sarah Holt

British Dictionary definitions for unvarnished

unvarnished

/ (ʌnˈvɑːnɪʃt) /

adjective

not elaborated upon or glossed; plain and directthe unvarnished truth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for unvarnished

unvarnished

adj.

c.1600, of statements, "not embellished," from un- (1) "not" + past participle of varnish (v.). Literal sense of "not covered in varnish" is recorded from 1758.

unvarnished

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of unvarnished

Examples from the Web for unvarnished

British Dictionary definitions for unvarnished

unvarnished

adjective

Word Origin and History for unvarnished

unvarnished