outright

adverb out·right \ ˌau̇t-ˈrīt \

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of outright

1 archaic : straight ahead : directly

2 : in entirety : completely

rejected the proposal outright

outright refuses to cooperate with law enforcement
—Tim Murphy

3 : without restraint or reservation

laughed outright

cried outright

4 : on the spot : instantaneously

was killed outright

5 : without lien (see lien 1) or encumbrance (see encumbrance 2)

purchased the property outright for cash

See outright defined for English-language learners

See outright defined for kids

Examples of outright in a Sentence

She won the competition outright.
The painting is now owned outright by the museum.
Their house was destroyed outright by the fire.
I bought the car outright.

Recent Examples of outright from the Web

The Associated Press reports that Trump has grown tired of his chief of staff’s management, but also has not seen fit to fire him outright.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Staffers Are Freaking Out Even More Than Usual Right Now," 6 Apr. 2018
Zuckerberg dismissed the idea outright just three days after the election.

— kurt wagner, Recode, "Mark Zuckerberg knows he screwed up," 5 Apr. 2018
The most recent, in 2012, showed that outright racial discrimination has dropped close to zero, though subtler differences (such as the number of homes shown to prospective residents) persist.

— The Economist, "Half a century after Martin Luther King’s murder, America remains an unequal place," 4 Apr. 2018
Bevin has until midnight on that day to decide whether to veto those bills outright.

— mandy mclaren, The Courier-Journal, "After massive rally, Kentucky teachers watching for Bevin vetoes on education funding," 4 Apr. 2018
The agency hopes the regulatory organizations who receive this data will set a PLdB level for commercial flight over land rather than outright banning planes from breaking the sound barrier.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "NASA Picks Lockheed Martin to Make Low-Boom Supersonic X-Plane," 3 Apr. 2018
Additionally, both Stern and Vichet would play major roles in Patek's future, with the Stern family eventually purchasing the company outright and Vichet making cases for watches such as the ref.

— Bloomberg.com, "Four Totally Bonkers Patek Philippe Watches Are Up for Auction," 30 Mar. 2018
Most other projects don’t work out so well, and some have had to be scrapped outright.

— dominic fracassa, San Francisco Chronicle, "SF complains PG&E is holding up major projects with unreasonable demands," 27 Mar. 2018
In the report about the woman's death in Spain, the co-authors said outright that patients should avoid the practice because of its risks.

— the washington post, OregonLive.com, "Woman dies after 'acupuncture' session that used live bees instead of needles," 23 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'outright.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of outright

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

outright

adjective out·right \ ˈau̇t-ˌrīt \

Definition of outright

1 a : being completely or exactly what is stated

an outright lie

b : given without reservation

outright grants for research

c : made without encumbrance or lien

an outright sale

2 archaic : proceeding directly onward

—

outrightly

adverb

See outright defined for English-language learners

Examples of outright in a Sentence

I was surprised by their outright rejection of the idea.

Recent Examples of outright from the Web

In the last year, Schulz, 48, along with hundreds of women experiencing similar complications, petitioned the Australian Senate to investigate their use, hoping for an outright ban and recourse for past procedures.

— marian liu, CNN, "Australia investigates implants that left some women with 'rotting pelvises'," 28 Mar. 2018
Millions of dollars have been invested in various biking and mobility startups, and cities have responded with a spectrum of regulations, from outright bans to capping the number of dockless bikes allowed in certain markets.

— patrick sisson, Curbed, "Will dockless bikes and scooters take over city sidewalks?," 27 Mar. 2018
Bluiett, who helped Xavier to the outright Big East regular-season championship, was named one of 10 semifinalists for the 2018 Naismith Men's College Player of the Year award.

— dave clark, Cincinnati.com, "Xavier's Bluiett, UC's Clark named to AP All-America teams," 27 Mar. 2018
Public opinion polls show powerful support for a range of gun measures, with overwhelming support for stricter background checks for gun purchasers and a smaller majority favoring an outright ban on assault-style weapons.

— New York Times, "Gun Marches Keep Republicans on Defense in Midterm Races," 25 Mar. 2018
In doing so, Bridges has led the Spartans to their best start in school history at 29-4, capturing an outright Big Ten championship and giving Tom Izzo his best shot at a second national title.

— chris solari, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan State's Miles Bridges gets chance to back up NCAA title talk," 16 Mar. 2018
Worries about a supplier of critical components do not have to result in outright bans.

— The Economist, "The battle for digital supremacy," 15 Mar. 2018
Gonzaga clinched the outright West Coast Conference regular-season championship with a 79-65 victory over Brigham Young on Saturday night.

— seattle times staff, The Seattle Times, "Gonzaga men beat Brigham Young, clinch outright WCC regular-season championship," 24 Feb. 2018
Here are five takeaways from the game: Not all is lost: Muskego did play spoiler, as Arrowhead now has no path to an outright Classic 8 championship.

— andrew gruman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Muskego springs upset over Arrowhead, but Warhawks receive help to clinch share of Classic 8 title," 22 Feb. 2018