Meaning & use
unembellished facts
Last updated
Meaning
nounplural
The plain truth stated without added detail, decoration, or attempts to make it sound better.
Grammar: Used as a plural noun phrase; it usually follows 'the' and takes a plural verb: the unembellished facts are ...
Patterns
- the unembellished facts about something
- give someone the unembellished facts
- stick to the unembellished facts
The report gives the unembellished facts about the company's losses.
She wanted the unembellished facts, not a comforting story.
Let's start with the unembellished facts and decide what to do later.
Common combinations
- the unembellished facts about
- We need the unembellished facts about the accident.
- give someone the unembellished facts
- The doctor gave us the unembellished facts about his condition.
- stick to the unembellished facts
- In court, you should stick to the unembellished facts.
- the unembellished facts of the case
- The lawyer summarized the unembellished facts of the case.
Synonyms and how they differ
- the plain truth
- More idiomatic and often more emotional; 'unembellished facts' sounds more formal and neutral.
- the bare facts
- Very close in meaning, but 'bare' stresses that only the minimum is given, while 'unembellished' stresses that nothing has been added to dress it up.
- the unvarnished truth
- A fixed, slightly literary phrase; use it for personal or moral matters rather than reports.
Opposites
Word family
- embellish verb
- to add decorative or invented details to something
- embellishment noun
- an added detail that makes something more attractive or interesting
- unembellished adjective
- plain, with nothing added to improve the appearance
Commonly confused: unembellished facts or unblemished?
unembellished facts vs unblemished
'Unblemished' means without any mark or fault (an unblemished record); 'unembellished' means without decoration or added detail.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'unembellished facts' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Unembellished facts' is a fixed plural noun phrase meaning the plain truth. Option 2 is ungrammatical, option 3 wrongly uses 'unembellished' as a verb, and option 4 invents an adverb that does not exist.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unembellished facts”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.