- forthright
- forthright adj1 also adv Forthright, downright are comparable because they agree in their basic sense of moving or in the habit of moving straight to the mark.Forthright (see also STRAIGHTFORWARD) applies to whatever gets its effect by a straight thrust as if of a sword driven by the arm of one person into the breast of another; it therefore usually connotes dexterity, directness, straightforwardness, or a deadly effectiveness{
reach the good man your hand, my girl: forthright from the shoulder, like a brave boxer— Meredith
}{the home thrust of a forthright word— J. R. Lowell
}{the practical, forthright, nonargumentative turn of his mind— Farrar
}Downright, on the other hand, suggests a falling down or descending with the straightness and swiftness of one who leaps from a cliff or of a weapon that delivers a crushing blow. The word, therefore, usually implies crude force rather than dexterity, and concern for the effect produced rather than the point reached; often, in addition, when applied to persons or things it connotes plainness, bluntness, flat-footedness, or an out-and-out quality{he . . . shot to the black abyss, and plunged downright— Pope
}{sculling against a swift current is work— downright work— Jefferies
}{you seem a pretty . . . downright sort of a young woman— Shaw
}{a baby. What a coarse, downright word for the little creature— Rose Macaulay
}{this admirably downright, if not highly sophisticated, ukase has been cited in almost every trade-secrets case ... since— John Brooks
}2 *straightforward, aboveboardAnalogous words: honest, *upright, conscientious, just, honorableAntonyms: furtive
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.