forthright
Appearance
English
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]From Middle English forþright, forþriʒt, forþriht, from Old English forþriht (“direct, plain”); equivalent to forth + right.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfɔːθˌɹaɪt/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈfɔɹθˌɹaɪt/
Adjective
[edit]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
[edit]Translations
[edit]straightforward; not evasive
|
frank, outspoken
Noun
[edit]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[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:
- Gonzalo: […] Here's a maze trod indeed / Through forth-rights and meanders !
Etymology 2
[edit]From Middle English forthright, forþriʒt, forthricte, from Old English forþrihte (“straightway, at once, plainly”), from forþriht + -e (“adverbial suffix”).
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /fɔːθˈɹaɪt/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Adverb
[edit]forthright (comparative more forthright, superlative most forthright)
- Expressly, frankly, unhesitatingly.
- At once, forthwith.
- Swiftly.
- (archaic) Straight forward, in a straight direction.
References
[edit]- “forthright”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “forthright”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English compound terms
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with archaic senses
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English adverbs
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