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Meaning & use

quite frankly in text

phrase·Everyday

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UK/ˌkwaɪt ˈfræŋkli ɪn ˈtekst/
US/ˌkwaɪt ˈfræŋkli ɪn ˈtekst/

Meanings

  1. phrasefixed phraseinformal

    Used in messages to introduce a blunt, honest opinion, often showing slight annoyance or impatience.

    Grammar: Comes at the start of a sentence or clause, followed by a comma: 'Quite frankly, I disagree.'

    Patterns

    • quite frankly, ...
    • quite frankly in a text
    • say something quite frankly

    Quite frankly, I think the plan needs more work.

    She wrote 'quite frankly, I'm not impressed' in her text.

    Quite frankly, we don't have time for another meeting.

  2. phrasefixed phraseinformal

    Describes the way a blunt opinion is written in a text message or online chat.

    Grammar: Used to talk about the medium ('in text', 'in a text') rather than to open a sentence.

    Patterns

    • quite frankly in text
    • put it quite frankly in text

    He tends to be quite frankly in text, which can sound rude.

    People are often more direct quite frankly in text than face to face.

Common combinations

quite frankly, I think
Quite frankly, I think we should cancel the trip.
say something quite frankly
He said quite frankly that the design was ugly.
quite frankly in text
People often speak quite frankly in text because they can't see each other's faces.
to put it quite frankly
To put it quite frankly, we can't afford it.

Synonyms and how they differ

honestly
'Honestly' is softer and can simply mean 'truthfully'; 'quite frankly' sounds more blunt and slightly irritated.
to be frank
'To be frank' is a little more formal and less emotional than 'quite frankly'.
bluntly
'Bluntly' focuses on the rude directness of the statement rather than the speaker's honest opinion.

Opposites

politelydiplomatically

Word family

frank adjective
honest and direct, sometimes in an unkind way
frankness noun
the quality of being honest and direct
frankly adverb
in an honest and direct way

Commonly confused: quite frankly in text or frankly speaking?

quite frankly in text vs frankly speaking

'Frankly speaking' is not standard English; native speakers say 'frankly' or 'to be frank' instead.

Practice

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