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forthright. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
forthright, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
forthright in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
forthright you have here. The definition of the word
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forthright, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English forþright, forþriʒt, forþriht, from Old English forþriht (“direct, plain”); equivalent to forth + right.
Pronunciation
Adjective
forthright (comparative more forthright, superlative most forthright)
- Straightforward; not evasive; candid and direct.
The witness was considered eminently credible thanks to her forthright answers.
- Frank, outspoken.
2022 April 6, “Network News: Spring Statement: Sunak accused of making rail less competitive”, in RAIL, number 954, page 8:TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes was typically forthright in his criticism by claiming that Sunak had "blatantly failed" to cure "a growing tragedy", as "every single day, more and more families can't make ends meet".
- Markedly simple.
- Fixed; settled; decided.
- (archaic) Proceeding straight forth.
Derived terms
Translations
straightforward; not evasive
- Bulgarian: прям (bg) (prjam), честен (bg) (česten), откровен (bg) (otkroven)
- Dutch: recht voor zijn raap, uitgesproken (nl)
- German: geradeaus (de), direkt (de)
- Greek: ειλικρινής (el) m (eilikrinís), μετά παρρησίας (metá parrisías)
- Italian: schietto (it), diretto (it)
- Macedonian: и́скрен (ískren), о́творен (ótvoren)
- Plautdietsch: frajch
- Slovak: priamy, otvorný
- Spanish: franco (es), directo (es)
- Swedish: rättfram (sv), rak (sv)
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Noun
forthright (plural forthrights)
- (archaic) A straight path.
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :Gonzalo: […] Here's a maze trod indeed / Through forth-rights and meanders !
Etymology 2
From Middle English forthright, forþriʒt, forthricte, from Old English forþrihte (“straightway, at once, plainly”), from forþriht + -e (“adverbial suffix”).
Pronunciation
Adverb
forthright (comparative more forthright, superlative most forthright)
- Expressly, frankly, unhesitatingly.
- At once, forthwith.
- Swiftly.
- (archaic) Straight forward, in a straight direction.
References