outright

adverb out·right \ ˌau̇t-ˈrīt \

|Updated on: 20 Jun 2018

Examples: outright in a Sentence

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

If the worker doesn’t offer these services, during the review approval process, TER can lower the points of, or outright reject, the review.

— rick paulas, Longreads, "Sex Workers vs. The Internet," 15 June 2018
Wednesday evening brought one of the few Grant Park Music Festival season openers that wasn’t severely compromised or canceled outright because of downpours, bone-chilling temperatures or various combinations thereof, in recent years.

— john von rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Grant Park Music Festival opens with a choral blockbuster under friendly skies," 14 June 2018
But of those who voted for Russia, only one of the 22 men are still employed by FIFA, as some of them were removed for corruption or outright banned from soccer.

— PEOPLE.com, "5 Things to Know About the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia," 14 June 2018
By contrast, three years ago Ethan Strimling won a majority of votes outright in Portland, Maine’s mayoral race.

— The Economist, "In praise of ranked-choice voting," 14 June 2018
But whether Seattle’s program gets extended, revised, or killed outright, Mike Hemion pictures a busy few months ahead.

— mark harris, WIRED, "The Bike Share War Is Shaking Up Seattle Like Nowhere Else," 14 June 2018
In South Korea, where the government of President Moon Jae-in has been pushing for the détente between the United States and North Korea, officials did not object outright to Mr. Trump’s surprise announcement about military drills.

— motoko rich, New York Times, "Trump-Kim Summit Creates New Anxieties for Asian Allies," 13 June 2018
With 99 percent of the vote tallied, Arrington had 50.6 percent of the vote - a figure that would cinch the nomination outright.

— sean sullivan, Anchorage Daily News, "Sanford falters in South Carolina after critical tweet from Trump," 13 June 2018
Technically, art has already been purchased outright with Bitcoin, though this may in fact be the first auction to accept cryptocurrency.

— brittany shoot, Fortune, "How Much Bitcoin Would You Spend on a Warhol?," 13 June 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

And earlier administrations have said outright that work requirements didn’t pass that test.

— todd spangler, Detroit Free Press, "4 things to know about Michigan's Medicaid work requirements," 14 June 2018
In 2018, most of us are lucky enough not to work with outright bigots.

— nick levine, GQ, "How to Be Gay at Work," 14 June 2018
Crawford explains the alternative to outright blocking has already been suggested to Judge Leon: requiring the divestiture of DirecTV, which competes nationwide for pay-TV subscribers with everyone else.

— claire atkinson, NBC News, "Where's the beef? IHOP, er, IHOB brings it with marketing stunt that triggers burger chains," 11 June 2018
To be politically feasible, any cuts in the purchasing power of doctors and other service providers would have to be gradual and take the form of lower rates of salary growth, not outright salary reductions.

— robert h. frank, New York Times, "Would a Single-Payer System Require Painful Sacrifices From Doctors?," 8 June 2018
Pictures and video will become like text: easier to fake outright or to shade in subtle ways that exaggerate or downplay what is really happening.

— The Economist, "A faked video of Donald Trump points to a worrying future," 24 May 2018
Sadler’s reaction is not unique among the Trumpian right, whose outright hatred of John McCain has resurfaced as McCain’s illness has progressed.

— jane coaston, Vox, "“He’s dying anyway”: the Trump right’s hate for John McCain, explained," 11 May 2018
Women post many of these negative Tinder messages, which can range from creepy to outright threatening, to subreddits like r/niceguys or r/creepyasterisks.

— emily gaudette, Newsweek, "Is Bumble Better Than Tinder? Dating Apps Are Battling for the Single Woman's Soul," 20 Mar. 2018
Solutions being suggested by industry stakeholders and lobby groups run from an outright ban on ESAs in airline cabins to a greater burden of proof on people claiming a legitimate need for their dogs.

— wes siler, Outside Online, "You May Never Fly with Your Fake Service Dog Again," 30 May 2018