Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Thoroughgoing; unequivocal: a downright lie.
- adj. Forthright; candid.
- adv. Thoroughly; absolutely.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Right down; straight down; perpendicularly.
- In plain terms; without ceremony or circumlocution.
- Completely; thoroughly; utterly: as, he is downright mad.
- Forthwith; without delay; at once.
- Directed vertically; coming straight down.
- Directly to the point; plain; unambiguous; unevasive.
- Using plain, direct language; accustomed to express opinions directly and bluntly; blunt.
- Complete; absolute; utter.
- n. One of the lower qualities or sorts of a fleece of wool.
Wiktionary
- adj. Directed vertically; coming straight down.
- adj. Directly to the point; plain; unambiguous; unevasive.
- adj. Using plain direct language; accustomed to express opinions directly and bluntly; blunt.
- adj. Complete; absolute; utter.
- adv. Really; actually; quite; thoroughly; utterly.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adv. Straight down; perpendicularly.
- adv. In plain terms; without ceremony.
- adv. obsolete Without delay; at once; completely.
- adj. Plain; direct; forthright; unceremonious; blunt; positive.
- adj. Open; artless; undisguised; absolute; unmixed.
WordNet 3.0
- adv. thoroughgoing.
- adj. characterized by plain blunt honesty
- adj. complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
Etymologies
- From Middle English, equivalent to down- + right. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Dat's what I calls downright robbery, Kun'l," he exclaimed, highly incensed.”
“Even when I introduced them in the most delicate way, he was what I call downright rude.”
“Men are better judges of that than women; but for high, chivalrous spirit, for true principle and nobility, and what I call downright worth, I don't think you will easily find her superior.”
The Eustace Diamonds
“It's what I call downright Radical nonsense," said Mrs. Low, nodding her head energetically.”
Phineas Finn
“It's what I call downright Radical nonsense," said Mrs Low, nodding her head energetically.”
“In resubmitting the legislation for renewal of what many consider the most controversial provisions -- and some label downright unconstitutional provisions -- within the Patriot Act, the Republican Rules Committee decided to allow only 60 minutes of debate.”
“A lull; "You let that child alone!" child, evidently of few years, screaming in downright terror.”
“But lets face the facts when it comes to the actual execution of it he downright is nothing short of a failure.”
“Sometimes this happens in downright disturbing ways, like a villain of The Incredibles (spoiler) getting sucked into a plane-engine.”
Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels and comic books » Faraway Soul’s Review Forum
“And more Marylanders than ever before think the state's economy is not doing well or is in downright poor condition (59 percent).”
The Washington Post: First Click, Maryland:Will O'Malley fare better than Fenty?
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘downright’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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GRE
predilection, explicit, appeal, supplication, appealing, enchanting, ovation, pertinent, apropos, opportunely, applicable, germane and 381 more...
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The Over-Worked "Very"
Synonyms for the word "very"
absolutely, actually, acutely, amazingly, assuredly, astonishingly, certainly, decidedly, desperately, downright, emphatically, exceedingly and 43 more...
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Words for my English Learners
vast, superfluous, inevitable, though, pervasive, overwhelm, assume, presume, curious, eccentric, whimsical, quaint and 12 more...
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magoosh1
aberration, aboveboard, abysmal, ace, affable, aghast, alacrity, ambiguous, ambivalent, ameliorate, amenable, amiable and 220 more...
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Duelistic
One-word oxymorons and dvandva (copulative compound (hot)) words with that contradictory, antonymic tension. Hyphens are fine, and neologisms are great, but I don't want any portmanteau words (I c...
bittersweet, push-pull, crosscurrent, featherweight, butthead, wholesome, firewater, homework, lovesick, nevermore, oxymoron, inside-out and 62 more...
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ShuckFinn's Words
abecedarian, conflate, mondegreen, whit, truculent, downright, pugnacious, effluvium, canker, inveigle, obfuscate, melancholy and 227 more...
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hard to sense
somewhat, somewhere, elsewhere, whereby, likewise, spite, ever, along, otherwise, whatever, whichever, hitherto and 116 more...
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I, Claudius
Words taken from I, Claudius by Robert Graves.
evocation, aureus, sestertii, denarii, assegai, pilum, framea, sibyl, propitiatory, duenna, tyrannicide, maggoty and 136 more...
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-right
adj./adv.
outright, downright, forthright, upright, alright, aright, topright, foreright, overright, unright
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Magoosh
menace, injunction, juggernaut, refrain, mnemonic, abysmal, grueling, ace, gregarious, amiable, wacky, esoteric and 201 more...
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Helpful Communicators: For emphasis
downright, warrant, necessitate, indicative, arduous, helm, proliferation, sheer, garner, ensure, assure, iterate
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maesepedro's Words
wit, dignity, river, funk, rhythm, embezzlement, schlock, phraseology, shucks, catch, exchequer, retrocessonaire and 70 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for downright.
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