Meaning & use
honest with you
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phraseinformal
Speaking truthfully and openly to someone, especially when saying something direct or difficult.
Grammar: Often used as 'be honest with you' or 'to be honest with you' before a statement.
Patterns
- be honest with someone
- to be honest with you
- I'll be honest with you
I'll be honest with you: I don't think the plan will work.
She was honest with me about the problems in the project.
To be honest with you, I preferred the old version.
Common combinations
- to be honest with you
- To be honest with you, I forgot our appointment.
- I'll be honest with you
- I'll be honest with you: this is harder than I expected.
- be honest with someone
- You should be honest with your parents about your plans.
- let me be honest with you
- Let me be honest with you: we need more time.
Synonyms and how they differ
- frankly
- Frankly is a one-word adverb that often introduces a direct opinion; 'honest with you' is a longer phrase that focuses on the relationship with the listener.
- truthfully
- Truthfully means 'in a truthful way' and can stand alone; 'honest with you' usually needs a person as the object.
Commonly confused: honest with you or honest to you?
honest with you vs honest to you
The correct phrase is 'honest with you', not 'honest to you'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'honest with you' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Be honest with someone' means to speak truthfully to them, so option 0 fits. Option 1 has a double preposition, option 2 makes no sense, and option 3 treats the phrase as a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “honest with you”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.