Openness
n.thoughtful, kindwarm
What it means
Readiness to share honestly or consider new people, ideas, and possibilities.
Reach for it when praising transparent communication or receptive attention
The team's openness to local knowledge changed the final design.
Choose between these
6- everyday
plans can change for good reasons
not when Flexibility may be tactical rather than open judgment.
- everyday
frankness
plain speaking is valued
not when Frankness can sound severe where openness feels invitational.
- warm
interest motivates engagement
not when Curiosity can coexist with fixed conclusions.
- professional
ideas receive a genuine hearing
not when Receptiveness does not promise sharing one's own thinking.
- professional
information and decisions can be examined
not when Transparency is procedural, not emotional honesty.
- formal
truthful speech is direct despite discomfort
not when Candor may be blunt and need not share the full process.
Said against
3- secrecy
- defensiveness
- closed-mindedness
It naturally appears in
3- openness about mistakes
Openness about mistakes helped every workshop improve its checklist.
- openness to change
Her openness to change kept the old building useful.
- spirit of openness
A spirit of openness made room for quieter opinions.
The word family
2Where this comes from
Openness is not a headword in the dictionaries below. The sense was checked against their entries for open, and the definition and example here are written for Openness itself.
- wiktionary, the entry for open, English noun senses: frankness and receptiveness opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.