make no bones about
verb
Simple meaning
To do, indicate, or say something clearly and without hesitation, even if it may be unpleasant.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
mayknohbohnzuhbowtSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmeɪknoʊboʊnzəbaʊt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
idiomatic
To do, indicate, or say something clearly and without hesitation, even if it may be unpleasant.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To do, indicate, or say something clearly and without hesitation, even if it may be unpleasant.
Used this way, make no bones about is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It keeps things gentle rather than emphatic.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Reluctant or hesitant
- Usage feel
- Understated and gentle
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.