outright

adverb

out·right | \ ˌau̇t-ˈrīt

Definition of outright

(Entry 1 of 2)

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 sense 1) or encumbrance (see encumbrance sense 2) purchased the property outright for cash

outright

adjective

out·right | \ ˈau̇t-ˌrīt

Definition of outright (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : 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

Other Words from outright Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about outright

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Examples of outright in a Sentence

Adverb

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.

Adjective

I was surprised by their outright rejection of the idea.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

Cleveland, the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia hope to sign him outright as a free agent and can now continue down that path. — Sam Amick, USA TODAY, "LeBron James' decision to become a free agent is bad news for Houston Rockets," 29 June 2018 Another shop that purchases outright, Trendy Tots specializes in children’s clothing and equipment, from newborn through size 12. — Ellen Albanese, BostonGlobe.com, "Where to shop for bargains on Cape Cod," 6 June 2018 Unfortunately, these insects often kill the grass outright. — Dan Gill, NOLA.com, "Lawn Care 101: How to spot and treat common turf issues before spring arrives," 24 Feb. 2018 An 11-point rejection of the draft deal agreed wednesday by the Spanish Congress questions the legality of returning arrivals outright, according to The Spain Report. — Josh Lowe, Newsweek, "EU-Turkey Refugee Summit Faces Battle On Multiple Fronts," 17 Mar. 2016 But more interestingly, there were a ton of outright wild notebooks at CES 2019. — Brad Chacos, PCWorld, "6 important CES 2019 reveals and trends that PC enthusiasts need to know about," 11 Jan. 2019 Are these services really worth it when weighed against buying clothes outright? How easy is the rental process, really? — Leah Bourne, Glamour, "There's a New Trend in Fashion Subscription Boxes—and We Put It to the Test," 10 Jan. 2019 Traditionally, large private-equity firms such as CVC tend to buy companies outright. — Ben Dummett, WSJ, "CVC Capital Agrees to Take Minority Stake in German Fleet-Services Firm," 16 Nov. 2018 Instead of paying a monthly fee to utilize the energy from the solar panels, customers buy it outright. — Jessica Levy, azcentral, "Sunrun simplifies solar energy for residential users," 14 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

The show flirts with being outright pulpy trash, then bounces gleefully between genres, underlining the many ways those genres prop up systems that prioritize the feelings and accomplishments of toxic men. — Todd Vanderwerff, Vox, "You, now streaming on Netflix, tilts the rom-com into postmodern horror," 27 Dec. 2018 The Lions finished 6-0-1 in East Suburban Catholic Conference play for their first conference championship since 2014, and their first outright ESCC title since 2005. — Chicago Tribune, chicagotribune.com, "St. Viator advances to Class 2A girls soccer state semifinals," 30 May 2018 Grimm, making his first start since a shutout over Arcadia in the final game of the regular season to clinch the outright league title, threw five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts. — Grant Gordon, latimes.com, "Crescenta Valley baseball's season comes to chaotic quarterfinal close," 26 May 2018 An outright conference title seems a bit out of the Gamecocks’ reach, but getting back to nine wins and finding a home in the Top 25 seems possible, if not probable. — Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY, "College football's post-spring outlook: Favorite, dark horse, also-ran for each conference," 3 May 2018 The Cavaliers’ outright Atlantic Coast Conference title this season was their third in five years, something even Sampson, a three-time national player of the year, didn’t achieve. — Washington Post, "NBA put on hold at Virginia as Cavs’ upperclassmen thrive," 13 Mar. 2018 Inflation has risen by an incomprehensible 833,997 percent in the past 12 months, and the commercial consequences are outright dystopian. — Luke.winkie, Vox, "Inside Venezuela’s YouTube prank economy," 12 Dec. 2018 Both of these anti-password moves come in the wake of Google's new Titan security keys, which aim to increase the strength of the password though not to outright replace it—yet. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "Is This Finally the Beginning of the End for the Password?," 24 Sep. 2018 And that is - nobody's saying that exactly outright, but that's the subtext of all these comments. — Fox News, "Ann Coulter on left's meltdown over Kavanaugh allegation; will Carter Page finally learn why the FBI spied on him?," 19 Sep. 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.