Added 9 October 2026
downright
/ˈdaʊnɹaɪt/ adjective
adjective Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about downright at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
Characterized by plain blunt honesty.
a downright answer
-
Complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers.
absolute freedom
adverb
-
Thoroughgoing.
he is outright dishonest
Origin
The adverb is derived from Middle English dounright, dounriȝt (“right down, straight down; face down; vertically; used for emphasis: outright, downright”), and then either: * possibly an aphetic form of adounright (“straight down; directly, immediately (?)”), from adoun (“downward”, adverb) (from Old English adūn, adūne (“down, downward”, adverb), ultimately from dūn (“hill, mountain”), from Proto-West Germanic *dūnā, *dūnu (“hill; sand dune”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“haze, mist; smoke”)) + right (“direct; straight; etc.”, adjective) (from Old English riht (“straight; etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten”)); or * from doun (“down, downward;.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)