Bluffly
/ˈblʌf.li/noun
In a blunt, direct, or rough manner.
Did you know?Despite sounding like something from a card game or a cliffside warning, *bluffly* is just the adverb form of *bluff*—a word whose older sense meant rough, abrupt, or sturdy, not deception.
Etymological Timeline
Early 16th Century
Dutch
blaf
“rough, flat, or broad”
16th Century
English
bluff
“rough, bold, or blunt in manner”
17th Century
English
bluffly
“in a rough, blunt, or hearty way”
Modern English
English
bluffly
“in a blunt, direct, or rough manner”