"To be honest." Preface to any sincere opinion, especially one that might be controversial.
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In this story, tbh producer Amaya Dorman Mackenzie shares her story growing up in a school district that supported LGBTQ+ students.
"To be honest." Preface to any sincere opinion, especially one that might be controversial. Softens the blow. "TBH, the new album is mid" lands better than just "the new album is mid" — the acronym signals self-awareness the bare verdict doesn't.
"TBH, the new album is mid."
'TBH' stands for 'to be honest' and is used to introduce a candid opinion. 'TBH I didn't like the film' = 'honestly, I didn't like the film'. Same softening function as 'NGL' but slightly older — TBH dates from early internet messaging in the 2000s. If your teen uses it, they are being conversational and direct. Harmless. The Instagram app TBH (acquired by Facebook in 2017) made the abbreviation extra-popular among teens.
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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Viral internet speak — memes, ratios, main-character moments, and the algospeak of every platform from Twitter to Reddit to TikTok comment sections.
See all Internet & Memes slang on Slangora.
Browse all slang words starting with T.
To be quite honest. A slightly fuller, more emphatic cousin of "tbh", used to introduce a frank or slightly critical opinion. The extra "q" signals that the speaker really means it.
When someone is operating in tbh mode, they've dropped all the social filters and are delivering pure, uncut honesty — no softening, no diplomacy, just the raw take. It's the mental state people announce before saying something that might sting, as if switching into a different communication gear. TBH mode signals that what follows is the actual opinion, not the polite one. You might enter tbh mode after holding back a truth for too long, after a few drinks, or simply when the group chat energy demands brutal realness over comfortable lies.
A negative TBH is a blunt, unflattering honest opinion delivered in the format of a TBH post or message — the kind where someone follows 'tbh' with something that stings. While TBH posts originated as a way to share genuine compliments, the negative TBH flips the format to deliver criticism under the same social contract of honesty. It's technically fair because honesty was the whole premise, but it hits differently when the truth is that you think someone's outfit is a disaster or their personality is exhausting. Handle with care — or don't, if that's your brand.
'TBH' stands for 'to be honest' and is used to introduce a candid opinion. 'TBH I didn't like the film' = 'honestly, I didn't like the film'. Same softening function as 'NGL' but slightly older — TBH dates from early internet messaging in the 2000s. If your teen uses it, they are being conversational and direct. Harmless. The Instagram app TBH (acquired by Facebook in 2017) made the abbreviation extra-popular among teens.
'TBH' is the initialism for 'to be honest', a discourse marker introducing a candid opinion, often mildly critical or unexpectedly direct. Pronounced as letters when spoken. Register: very informal, chat and social media. In formal English use 'honestly', 'frankly' or 'to be candid'. A common learner mistake is to over-use it in writing; in formal contexts it sounds slangy. The Instagram-acquired TBH app (2017) further popularised the abbreviation among teens.
“If an [internal link](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:WhatLinksHere/TBH&namespace=0) incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.”
“In this story, tbh producer Amaya Dorman Mackenzie shares her story growing up in a school district that supported LGBTQ+ students.”
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Tugdan Airport, IATA airport code
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"To Be Honest", see List of acronyms and initialisms: T
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tbh (app), an anonymous social media app
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Talento Bilingüe de Houston ("Bilingual Theater of Houston")
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Tharawal language, ISO 639-3 language code
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