Forthright

//ˈfɔːθˌɹaɪt// adj, adv, noun

adj, adv, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A straight path. archaic

    "Gonzalo: […]Here's a maze trod indeed / Through forth-rights and meanders !"

Adjective
  1. 1
    Straightforward; not evasive; candid and direct.

    "The witness was considered eminently credible thanks to her forthright answers."

  2. 2
    Frank, outspoken.

    "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"."

  3. 3
    Markedly simple.
  4. 4
    Fixed; settled; decided.
  5. 5
    Proceeding straight forth. archaic
Adjective
  1. 1
    characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    Expressly, frankly, unhesitatingly.
  2. 2
    At once, forthwith.
  3. 3
    Swiftly.
  4. 4
    Straight forward, in a straight direction. archaic
Adverb
  1. 1
    directly and without evasion; not roundabout wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
above-boardaboveboardartlessas the crow fliesbluffblunt

Example

More examples

"Tom was incredibly forthright and honest."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English forþright, forþriʒt, forþriht, from Old English forþriht (“direct, plain”). By surface analysis, forth + right.

Etymology 2

From Middle English forthright, forþriʒt, forthricte, from Old English forþrihte (“straightway, at once, plainly”), from forþriht + -e (“adverbial suffix”). By surface analysis, forth + right.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.