outspokenness

noun

as in honesty
the free expression of one's true feelings and opinions some people find the celebrated outspokenness of that talk show host to be rather offensive

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of outspokenness His father’s boss and mentor, the reformer Hu Yaobang, whose death in 1989 sparked the protests in Tiananmen Square, was known for his outspokenness, which played a crucial role in his political demise. — Jonathan A. Czin, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026 Her political outspokenness and fearlessness in challenging the danger women face in flaunting their sexuality, particularly in her native Argentina, is one of her strengths, as is her ability to imagine a new world where that violence doesn’t exist. — E.r. Pulgar, Pitchfork, 11 June 2026 His outspokenness has spurred discourse among country music's Republican-leaning audience. — Mars Salazar, Austin American Statesman, 2 Apr. 2026 The actor recently reflected on his political outspokenness in an interview with Vanity Fair. — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Mar. 2026 The outspokenness of the Winter Olympic athletes echoes a dramatic protest by Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos which electrified the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City. — Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2026 Their outspokenness has drawn some criticism. — Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 19 Nov. 2025 Kirk's outspokenness helped dissuade those fears. — Alex J. Rouhandeh, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025 While the rise of GLP-1s brings a myriad of valid concerns − such as its contribution to disordered eating and promotion of thinness as the ideal body type − Williams' outspokenness is a crucial, balanced example of healthy and transparent GLP-1 usage. — Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outspokenness
  1. honesty
  2. sincerity
  3. frankness
  4. forthrightness
  5. bluntness
  6. directness
  7. candidness
  8. candor
Noun
  • The defenses now in place filter for honesty rather than for risk.
    — Dvir Ginzburg, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2026
  • However, honesty remains important, especially when explaining what your business can and cannot do.
    — Mark Berookim, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of honesty
Noun
  • The show sought to expand norms of representation—a project whose sincerity all but courts the cringeworthy—with artists hell-bent on deconstructing the drive for beauty, including Orlan, Sara Cwynar, Juno Calypso, and Haley Morris-Cafiero.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Still, the sincerity matters, and so does the achievement of realizing something this strange with such conviction.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of sincerity
Noun
  • Lin is known in town to be incredibly fair, but at times obtuse in his frankness.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The novel, published in 1988, foreshadowed the career to come by taking on, with disarming frankness, everything from child abuse to transracial adoption.
    — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of frankness
Noun
  • Alvarado has had to address that in the wake of the film’s release, and perhaps that forthrightness has aided the box office.
    — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 22 July 2026
  • Your forthrightness will set the tone for future dates.
    — Daniel de Visé, USA Today, 6 June 2026
Definition of forthrightness
Noun
  • Casting Bill Burr — the stand-up, who in recent years has repeatedly gone viral for speaking hard truths right to people’s face with all the bluntness of his blue-collar Boston roots — was a whole other layer of wish fulfillment for Sorkin.
    — Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Still, everyone onstage seemed amused and accustomed to Lange’s bluntness.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of bluntness
Noun
  • Savio The Brazilian is still finding his feet but already feels like an important player, offering pace, directness and a willingness to take on his man — qualities lacking in many of his team-mates.
    — Dan Kilpatrick, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Paul, meanwhile, was in a period of uncharacteristic autobiographical directness in his lyric-writing, documenting his grievances with his actor girlfriend Jane Asher while residing in her family’s London home.
    — Darryn King, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of directness
Noun
  • The reassuring finding, across the research represented in the room at the CIFAR workshop, is that candidness about uncertainty generally maintains or builds trust rather than erodes it.
    — Aleeza Gerstein, The Conversation, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Lee told the Queen that her husband’s candidness has encouraged many to feel more comfortable with their own cancer journeys.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of candidness
Noun
  • Such candor matters as capital pivots from training AI models toward inference, the computing that puts them to work for customers.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Franklyn and her then-best friend and roommate, Cooper, started the podcast in 2018 and quickly turned the show — celebrated for its raunch and candor about modern dating — into a million-listener hit.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of candor

Browse Nearby Words

outspoken
outspokenness
outspread
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Cite this Entry

“Outspokenness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outspokenness. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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