100 Phrases to Use Instead of “To be honest”

No.	Item	Definition
1.	All things considered	After weighing everything honestly.
2.	As a matter of fact	Actually; in reality.
3.	As I see it	In my view.
4.	As it happens	In reality; as the case is.
5.	As it turns out	In the end, the truth is.
6.	At the end of the day	Ultimately, in plain truth.
7.	At the risk of honesty	Introducing a frank remark.
8.	Being transparent	Being open and honest.
9.	Between you and me	Confidentially and honestly.
10.	Call it like I see it	Say what I think honestly.
11.	Can I be candid?	Asking permission to speak frankly.
12.	Confession time	Introducing a candid admission.
13.	Directly speaking	Speaking directly and honestly.
14.	Fairly speaking	Speaking fairly.
15.	For what it’s worth	Offering an honest opinion.
16.	From my perspective	In my view, honestly.
17.	Here’s my honest take	My truthful opinion.
18.	Here’s the honest truth	This is the real truth.
19.	Here’s the truth	This is the truth.
20.	Honestly speaking	Used to introduce a truthful statement.
21.	I mean it	I’m serious and sincere.
22.	I mean this sincerely	I’m saying this sincerely.
23.	I must be honest	I need to be honest.
24.	I should be honest	I ought to be truthful.
25.	I won’t beat around	I’ll get to the point.
26.	I won’t mince words	I’ll speak plainly.
27.	I won’t sugarcoat it	I won’t soften the truth.
28.	I’ll be blunt with you	I’ll speak bluntly to you.
29.	I’ll be honest	I’m going to be honest.
30.	I’ll be straight with you	I’ll speak plainly to you.
31.	I’ll come clean	I’ll admit the truth.
32.	I’ll level with you	I’ll speak honestly.
33.	I’ll tell you straight	I’ll tell you plainly.
34.	I’m being honest	I’m speaking truthfully.
35.	I’m not kidding	I’m serious.
36.	I’m serious	I mean this seriously.
37.	If I’m being honest	If I’m speaking honestly.
38.	If I’m frank with you	If I speak frankly to you.
39.	If I’m honest	If I speak honestly.
40.	If we’re being honest	If we’re speaking honestly.
41.	If we’re honest	If we speak honestly.
42.	In all honesty	With complete honesty.
43.	In fact	Actually; to tell the truth.
44.	In fairness	To be fair about it.
45.	In my view	In my opinion.
46.	In plain terms	In simple, clear words.
47.	In sincerity	With sincere intent.
48.	In the interest of honesty	Said to justify being truthful.
49.	In truth	In reality; honestly.
50.	Just so you know	Introducing a frank clarification.
51.	Let me be honest	I’ll speak honestly now.
52.	Let me level with you	Let me speak honestly.
53.	Let’s be honest	Let’s speak honestly.
54.	My blunt take	My blunt opinion.
55.	My candid view	My candid opinion.
56.	My frank view	My frank opinion.
57.	My honest opinion	My truthful view.
58.	My straight answer	My direct answer.
59.	No beating around	No avoiding the point.
60.	No BS	No nonsense; honestly.
61.	No bull	No nonsense; honestly.
62.	No exaggeration	Without exaggerating.
63.	No joke	Seriously; truly.
64.	No kidding	Seriously; I mean it.
65.	No lie	I’m not exaggerating.
66.	No nonsense	Direct and serious.
67.	No offense, but	Preface before blunt honesty.
68.	No sugarcoating	Without softening the truth.
69.	Not gonna lie	Introducing a candid admission.
70.	Not to lie	Introducing a truthful statement.
71.	Off the record	Not for public sharing.
72.	Openly speaking	Speaking openly.
73.	Plainly speaking	Speaking plainly and honestly.
74.	Put plainly	Stated in plain words.
75.	Put simply	Stated simply and clearly.
76.	Real talk	Speaking seriously and honestly.
77.	Seriously speaking	Speaking seriously and honestly.
78.	Simply put	In simple terms.
79.	Speaking candidly	Said with honest openness.
80.	Speaking frankly	Said in a direct, honest way.
81.	Straight up	Completely honestly; plainly.
82.	Tell it like it is	Speak plainly and honestly.
83.	The fact is	In reality.
84.	The honest truth is	In reality; honestly.
85.	The reality is	In reality.
86.	The truth is	In reality.
87.	The way I see it	In my honest view.
88.	To be frank	Introducing a candid statement.
89.	To be perfectly honest	Completely honest.
90.	To be straight with you	To speak directly to you.
91.	To come clean	To admit the truth.
92.	To put it plainly	To say it plainly.
93.	To tell the truth	Introducing an honest admission.
94.	Truth be told	Introducing a frank truth.
95.	Unvarnished truth	The plain truth, without softening.
96.	Up front	Openly and directly.
97.	Without a doubt	Certainly; truly.
98.	Without exaggeration	Not overstating anything.
99.	Without joking	Seriously; not joking.
100.	Without kidding	Seriously; honestly.