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to be honest

idiom

1 meaning of to be honest

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  1. 1
    idiom
    Used to introduce a frank or candid statement, often one the speaker suspects the listener may not want to hear.

    To be honest, I never expected the project to succeed.

    The meal was fine, but to be honest, I've had much better at half the price.

    Similarhonestly, frankly, TBH

    Note

    Here the phrase works as a sentence adverb, commenting on the speaker's stance rather than on the clause itself. It can open a sentence or trail at the end (I don't mind, to be honest), set off by a comma either way. In casual writing it shrinks to TBH; if I'm honest and in all honesty do the same job. Without the comma it may be the literal phrase, as in the hardest thing is to be honest.

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