straight out
In blunt terms
Straight out means directly or without hesitation or evasion: I asked her straight out if she was leaving.
The phrase emphasizes bluntness—no softening, no hedging.
Someone who tells you something straight out isn't sugarcoating it.
Also appears as straight-out as an adjective meaning outright or unqualified: a straight-out lie, a straight-out refusal.
- flat outTotally, without reservation
- point blankAt very close range
- squarelyExactly and without evasion
- bluntDull or tactlessly direct
- no holds barredWithout rules or limits
in your face · direct · upfront · no nonsense · forthright · candid · tell it like it is · specifically · literally · definitely · clearly · frankly · unequivocal · plainspoken · cut to the chase · exactly · honestly · unambiguously
straight outdiplomatically
With political finesse
evasively · indirectly · obliquely · euphemistically · tactfully
straight outcrookedly
In bent manner
indirectly · circuitously · roundabout · zigzag · meandering
straight outgradually
In slow stages
eventually · hesitatingly · reluctantly · little by little · coyly
straight, straighten, outspoken, straightforward, straightened, straightening, straightest, straights, straightener