frankly

From frank +‎ -ly.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɹæŋkli/
• Hyphenation: frank‧ly

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frankly (comparative franklier or more frankly, superlative frankliest or most frankly)

1. In a frank or candid manner, especially in a way that may seem too open, excessively honest, or slightly blunt.

   speak frankly

   He spoke frankly about the economy.

   • 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, chapter III, in Nobody, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 1915, →OCLC:

     She was frankly disappointed. For some reason she had thought to discover a burglar of one or another accepted type—either a dashing cracksman in full-blown evening dress, lithe, polished, pantherish, or a common yegg, a red-eyed, unshaven burly brute in the rags and tatters of a tramp.

2. (sentence adverb) In truth, to tell the truth.

   Most of what they said was, frankly, a pack of lies.

   • 1939, Gone with the Wind‎, spoken by Rhett Butler (Clark Gable):

     Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

3. (sciences, medicine) To a degree large enough as to be plainly evident.

   Coordinate terms: evidently, obviously, apparently, macroscopically, grossly, greatly, palpably

   frankly septic

   frankly psychotic

• (manner): candidly, forthcomingly, honestly, truthfully; bluntly; see also Thesaurus:honestly
• (sentence adverb): as a matter of fact, truth to tell; see also Thesaurus:actually