forthright

English

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔːθˌɹaɪt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔɹθˌɹaɪt/

Adjective

forthright (comparative more forthright, superlative most forthright)

1. Straightforward; not evasive; candid and direct.

   Synonym: out-front

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

2. 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".

3. Markedly simple.
4. Fixed; settled; decided.
5. (archaic) Proceeding straight forth.

Derived terms

• forthrightly
• forthrightness
• unforthright

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)

frank, outspoken

German: unverblümt (de) Italian: schietto (it), franco (it) Swedish: rättfram (sv), rak (sv)

Noun

forthright (plural forthrights)

1. (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

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fɔːθˈɹaɪt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adverb

forthright (comparative more forthright, superlative most forthright)

1. Expressly, frankly, unhesitatingly.
2. At once, forthwith.
3. Swiftly.
4. (archaic) Straight forward, in a straight direction.

References

• “forthright”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025), “forthright”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.