From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishspeak/ask/answer etc directlyspeak/ask/answer etc directlyEXACTto say exactly what you mean without trying to hide anything Jeff has a job in mind, but refuses to say directly what it is. → directly
Examples from the Corpus
speak/ask/answer etc directly• In fact, a Harvard spokesman confirmed her admittance only when asked directly.• Dole spoke directly about his age, saying 73 years of life are not a liability.• Even when asked directly, as they were by Carol Hong, employees misrepresented the costs, her lawsuit alleges.• Although they never spoke directly of Lachlan, each knew the other's mind; though not as well as she believed.• They seem to speak directly out of the dark into your ears or mine alone.• Later she spoke directly to Rachel.• This is, however, a book that speaks directly to the home cook looking for new challenges and tastes.• When asked directly what were their visions of Howdendyke's future, interviewees made fairly consistent replies. 