out·right
ˌau̇t-ˈrīt 
1
: in entirety : completely
rejected the proposal outright
outright refuses to cooperate with law enforcement—
Tim Murphy
Tim Murphy2
: on the spot : instantaneously
was killed outright
3
: without lien (see lien sense 1) or encumbrance (see encumbrance sense 2)
purchased the property outright for cash
4
: without restraint or reservation
laughed outright
cried outright
5
archaic
: straight ahead : directly
out·right
ˈau̇t-ˌrīt
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
Synonyms
Adjective
- absolute
- all-out
- arrant
- blank
- blooming [chiefly British]
- bodacious [Southern & Midland]
- categorical
- categoric
- clean
- complete
- consummate
- crashing
- damn
- damned
- dead
- deadly
- definite
- downright
- dreadful
- fair
- flat
- flat-out
- out-and-out
- perfect
- plumb
- profound
- pure
- rank
- regular
- sheer
- simple
- stark
- stone
- straight-out
- thorough
- thoroughgoing
- total
- unadulterated
- unalloyed
- unconditional
- unmitigated
- unqualified
- utter
- very
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 WebJohn Eligon, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2024
Disaggregating representation data — by genre, by producing country, by qualitative analysis — is particularly crucial for the umbrella identity known as API, which tends to obscure or outright erase the Pasifika (Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander) part of the moniker.
—Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Apr. 2024
Toeing a tricky line, Feldman was trying to provide an extreme event while also making sure no one got seriously hurt, which could have caused a public backlash and killed his sport outright.
—Stayton Bonner, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2024
Discussions of a resolution appeared stuck Tuesday at a county supervisors’ meeting until Leigh Hanson, chief of staff to Mayor Sheng Thao, called in to propose the city outright buy both the county’s shares.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024
The new position had less prestige, a worse schedule, and fewer perks, but a court dismissed her claim outright because the transfer, even if discriminatory, did not affect her pay or rank in the police department.
—Ming-Qi Chu, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024
Many of the students saw their high school ceremony severely disrupted, if not canceled outright, because of the pandemic.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 18 Apr. 2024
In 2022, Mayor Gloria agreed to settle litigation over 101 Ash St. that included the city buying the building and another nearby office high-rise outright.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2024
Later, when confronted with images of their bodies, Grant outright denied involvement with their murders.
—Jessica Sager, Peoplemag, 16 Apr. 2024
Laura Schulte, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024
The Bears spent much of this season ranked No. 2 behind the Sooners and won the final Pac-12 title – the program’s first outright regular season crown.
—Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
And while not an outright victory, the outcome moved the Current to 3-0-1 this season and kept Kansas City atop the NWSL standings.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 15 Apr. 2024
If no single party wins an outright majority, then the leading party will usually ally with other, smaller parties.
—Astha Rajvanshi, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
The flying experience can be unnerving for dogs: Crates, injuries or worse, outright bans in some cases.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
But the European policies are notably different from the outright bans for adolescents passed in 22 U.S. states, some of which threaten doctors with prison time or investigate parents for child abuse.
—Azeen Ghorayshi, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
The distributor advises the artist to cease promotional activity — assuming that the artist is responsible for the streaming violations — or, if the artist is unaware of the fraudulent activity, they are advised to remove the track from Spotify or face fines or an outright ban.
—Ari Herstand, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
Accusation and projection must provide some of her lifeblood, but a real old-school diva, as the etiquette goes, is not going to outright admit to the nature of her bottomless appetite.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Adverb
But the government is no longer giving land to Black South Africans outright, offering long-term leases instead, Mr. Sihlobo and Mr. Kirsten said.
—John Eligon, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2024
Disaggregating representation data — by genre, by producing country, by qualitative analysis — is particularly crucial for the umbrella identity known as API, which tends to obscure or outright erase the Pasifika (Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander) part of the moniker.
—Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Apr. 2024
Toeing a tricky line, Feldman was trying to provide an extreme event while also making sure no one got seriously hurt, which could have caused a public backlash and killed his sport outright.
—Stayton Bonner, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2024
Discussions of a resolution appeared stuck Tuesday at a county supervisors’ meeting until Leigh Hanson, chief of staff to Mayor Sheng Thao, called in to propose the city outright buy both the county’s shares.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024
The new position had less prestige, a worse schedule, and fewer perks, but a court dismissed her claim outright because the transfer, even if discriminatory, did not affect her pay or rank in the police department.
—Ming-Qi Chu, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024
Many of the students saw their high school ceremony severely disrupted, if not canceled outright, because of the pandemic.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 18 Apr. 2024
In 2022, Mayor Gloria agreed to settle litigation over 101 Ash St. that included the city buying the building and another nearby office high-rise outright.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2024
Later, when confronted with images of their bodies, Grant outright denied involvement with their murders.
—Jessica Sager, Peoplemag, 16 Apr. 2024
Adjective
If the governor succeeds in the case, the Legislature would be prevented from outright blocking projects proposed under the stewardship program.
—Laura Schulte, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024
The Bears spent much of this season ranked No. 2 behind the Sooners and won the final Pac-12 title – the program’s first outright regular season crown.
—Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
And while not an outright victory, the outcome moved the Current to 3-0-1 this season and kept Kansas City atop the NWSL standings.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 15 Apr. 2024
If no single party wins an outright majority, then the leading party will usually ally with other, smaller parties.
—Astha Rajvanshi, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
The flying experience can be unnerving for dogs: Crates, injuries or worse, outright bans in some cases.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
But the European policies are notably different from the outright bans for adolescents passed in 22 U.S. states, some of which threaten doctors with prison time or investigate parents for child abuse.
—Azeen Ghorayshi, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
The distributor advises the artist to cease promotional activity — assuming that the artist is responsible for the streaming violations — or, if the artist is unaware of the fraudulent activity, they are advised to remove the track from Spotify or face fines or an outright ban.
—Ari Herstand, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
Accusation and projection must provide some of her lifeblood, but a real old-school diva, as the etiquette goes, is not going to outright admit to the nature of her bottomless appetite.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'outright.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near outright
Cite this Entry
“Outright.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outright. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
outright
1 of 2 adverb
out·right
(ˈ)au̇t-ˈrīt
1
a
: in entirety : completely
sold outright
b
: without holding back
laughed outright
2
: on the spot : instantaneously
killed outright
outright
2 of 2 adjective
out·right
ˈau̇t-ˌrīt
1
: being exactly what is stated
an outright lie
2
: given without restriction
an outright gift
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