candor

noun

can·​dor ˈkan-dər 

-ˌdȯr

1

: unreserved, honest, or sincere expression : forthrightness

the candor with which he acknowledged a weakness in his own case

—Aldous Huxley

2

: freedom from prejudice or malice : fairness

… a heavy accusation … from a gentleman of your talents, liberality, and candor.

—Noah Webster

3

a

literary : brightness, brilliance

the sun poured with a more golden candor

—Christoper Morley

b

obsolete : unstained purity

4

archaic : kindliness

Did you know?

Candor comes from Latin candēre, meaning "to shine or glow." That origin is reflected in the word's early uses referring to brightness or unstained purity and innocence, which are the sources of today's familiar use of candor for unquestionably honest expression.

Did you know?

Candor: It Can Be Refreshing

Candor, related to the adjective candid, refers to straightforward honesty or frankness in speech or expression. The fact that it is frequently preceded by the adjective refreshing suggests that it is often unexpected, a shift from guarded or euphemistic language:

This is perhaps the busiest and craziest time of the year for device-case maker Brian Holmes, and he told me today with refreshing candor that “I am about to lose my mind.”
Julio Ojeda-Zapata, St. Paul Pioneer Press, 9 Sept. 2016

They are openly afraid of starting a family and making mistakes, and this refreshing candor between characters is what makes the show one of the best rom-coms on TV.
Julia Edelman, People, 8 Apr. 2016

Synonyms

• bluntness
• candidness
• directness
• forthrightness
• frankness
• honesty
• openheartedness
• openness
• outspokenness
• plainness
• plainspokenness
• plumpness
• straightforwardness
• unguardedness
• unreserve
• unreservedness

Examples of candor in a Sentence

But a more subtle, and perhaps the most powerful, quality in the Senator's arsenal of attractions is an unrelenting candor that verges on self-reproach … —Joe Klein, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2002

People are human; they are fallible. I concede with painful candor and a heavy heart that the adage applies to me and to my generation of American leadership regarding Vietnam. —Robert S. McNamara, In Retrospect, 1995

… thoughtful critics lamented what they designated Roosevelt's deviousness, his lack of candor … —Doris Kearns Goodwin, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 1994

One hardly knows which to admire more, the candor of the author or the forbearance of his wife and his buddy, who somehow manage to refrain from cuffing him smartly upside the head. —Jay McInerney, New York Times Book Review, 31 Mar. 1991

She spoke with candor about racism.

I was impressed by the candor of his statement.

Recent Examples on the Web

Mistakes are commonplace in the chaos and horror of a battlefield, yet this openness and candor is rare from troops who a year earlier would have spoken with fierce pride about Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive in Russia’s Kursk region. —Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 27 Nov. 2024

The special episode filmed at Windsor Castle was a rare joint media appearance for Anne, William and Kate, and Mike later reflected in The Good, The Bad & The Rugby — Unleashed book, published in October, that their conversation in full would have shocked the public with its candor. —Janine Henni, People.com, 26 Nov. 2024

What those many transformations speak to, though, is not just Cher’s remarkable knack for reinvention, but her extraordinary resilience: a quality that has never been captured with the same candor and scope as her rip-roaring, deliciously readable new memoir, titled, simply, The Memoir: Part One. —Liam Hess, Vogue, 25 Nov. 2024

That means modeling psychological safety and candor about embracing different brain types from the top of the organizational chart. 2. —Shaun Arora, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French & Latin; French candeur, from Latin candor, from candēre — more at candid entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

candor

noun

can·​dor ˈkan-dər 

-dȯ(ə)r

: sincere and honest expression : frankness