What does frank mean?
Word: Frank
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Frank means saying exactly what you think in a plain, direct way, without hiding anything just to be polite.
Synonyms: direct, candid, open
Antonyms: evasive
Word origin: Comes through Old French from the medieval Latin word francus.
How do you spell frank?
Syllables: frank
Tricky part: Frank has a sound-alike twin that ends in a c. The two are separate words, so check what the sentence is about before you write either one.
Watch out for: frenk, franke
Memory tip: Frank keeps company with bank, tank and thank: all of them end in the same a-n-k.
Idioms and Phrases
- to be frank: used just before you say something truthful that others may not like Example: "To be frank, I thought the second half of the play was far too long."
Frank in a sentence
Example 1: Isla gave me a frank opinion of my essay, and it helped me rewrite the ending.
Example 2: The two friends had a frank talk and soon cleared up the misunderstanding.
Example 3: Our coach is always frank about what the team needs to improve.
Fun Fact
The country name France comes from the Franks, a people of early Europe, and the Latin word behind frank was first a name for one of the Franks.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Twins
Read the two sentences and choose the correct option:
1. Daniel's franc comments about my drawing helped me improve it. 2. Before the euro arrived, people in Belgium paid for their shopping in francs.
a) neither
b) only 1
c) only 2
d) both
Show answer
c) only 2. The franc was money, so sentence 2 is right; truthful comments need the spelling that ends in k.
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Frank goes back to the medieval Latin word francus. What did francus mean?
a) brave
b) wise
c) loud
d) free
Show answer
d) free. In the lands the Franks ruled, only a full Frank was a free man, so the name came to mean free, and later open and plain-spoken.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its synonym:
1. frank 2. weary 3. timid a. tired b. shy c. outspoken
a) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
c) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
d) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
Show answer
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b. An outspoken person says plainly what they think; weary means tired, and a timid child is shy.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A frank review of a new phone would most likely do what?
a) only repeat what the advert says
b) avoid giving any opinion at all
c) talk about a different phone instead
d) point out its good and bad features
Show answer
d) point out its good and bad features
2. At the post office, the clerk franked the parcel. What did she do?
a) wrote the address on the front
b) wrapped it in brown paper
c) weighed it on the scale
d) marked it to show postage was paid
Show answer
d) marked it to show postage was paid
