Point-blank (adverb)

1. At a very close range.
2. Directly and to the point; bluntly.

Origin:

Late 16th century: from point-blank (sense 2 of the noun), from french à bout portant "at the end of a gun barrel".

Examples:

1. He fired the gun point-blank at the target.
2. The thief was shot point-blank by the security guard.
3. The employee asked the boss point-blank if he was going to be fired.
4. The journalist asked the politician point-blank about the corruption scandal.
5. The doctor told the patient point-blank that he only had a few months to live.