truth be told
In all honesty
Truth be told is an expression introducing a candid admission—something the speaker might otherwise have kept to themselves: Truth be told, I never liked him much.
It signals that what follows is more honest than what came before, or more honest than the speaker usually allows.
The phrase often precedes confessions, corrections, or uncomfortable facts.
- franklyWithout concealment or evasion
- honestlyIn a truthful manner
- in all honestyPhrase preceding sincere statement
- candidlyWithout concealment or evasion
- admittedlyBy one's own acknowledgment
come clean · to be honest · real talk · I must say · to be fair · candor · if you ask me · admission · as a matter of fact · veracity · confession · cards on the table · lay it on the line · acknowledgment · sincerity · open up · actually · integrity
- Candor Phrasesto be honest, honestly, frankly, speaking frankly, if i'm being honest
- conversational hedgesjust saying, to be honest, frankly, honestly, in my opinion
- truthsfacts, fact, reality, verity, verities
- filler phrasesum, uh, like, you know, I mean
- story phrasesonce upon a time, happily ever after, the end, long ago, a long time ago
- summariessummary, synopsis, summaries, abstract, abstracts
tell, truth, truthful, truths, untruth, truthfulness, untruthful, truthfully, veritable