Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

unvarnished truth

Idioms  

  1. The plain facts without embellishment, as in Let's just have the unvarnished truth about the sale. This idiom was first recorded in 1883, although unvarnished had been used to describe a direct statement since Shakespeare's time.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Here is the harsh and unvarnished truth: Joint tenancy comes with survivorship rights.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 6, 2025

Conor Cullen, the solicitor representing the Conway family in the legal challenge, told BBC News NI that a parallel inquiry in the Republic of Ireland was necessary in uncovering "the unvarnished truth".

From BBC • Aug. 7, 2025

But demonstrating that overtly, especially to folks who don’t know you well, sometimes requires sticking your own unvarnished truth in their faces.

From Salon • Oct. 21, 2024

Kerr, a broadcaster at the time, went to watch the Memphis Grizzles practice when West, the team’s general manager, spoke with him about anything and everything — a man allergic to anything but unvarnished truth.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2024

As they mulled over their future, southern blacks looked to the Chicago Defender, a source of inspiration and the unvarnished truth about the world around them, for guidance.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.