1 Definition
Honest, open frankness in speech, free of pretense or hidden motives.
2 In Use
Her candor about the project's failures stung at first, but it gave the team the clarity it needed to fix them.
3 Word Origin
candere Lat. · to shine, be white → candor Lat. · whiteness, sincerity → candor Middle English
Candor began as a word about light and color. In Latin it described a gleaming, brilliant whiteness, and the idea of purity soon came along with it. From there the meaning moved inward, so that a person with a clear, unclouded character was said to have candor. By the time English settled on the word, it carried the sense we use today: a willingness to speak plainly, with nothing concealed.
💡Fun Fact
Candor has a famous family of cousins. Candid, candidate, and incandescent all grow from the same Latin root for shining white. Candidate comes from the bright white togas that Roman office seekers wore to look pure and trustworthy to voters. Incandescent describes something glowing white with heat. The next time a light bulb, a campaign, and an honest conversation come up in one day, you can remind yourself they share an ancestor.