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outright

UK/aʊtˈɹaɪt/US/aʊtˈɹaɪt/
adverbB2+2 meaningsCommon in everyday speech and writing · #7,633 of 15,258leans written

Outright means completely and openly. Reject it outright, own it outright, an outright lie.

As an adverb it means without reservation — refused outright, banned outright. As an adjective it means complete and undisguised: an outright victory, an outright lie, an outright majority. Owning something outright means owing nothing on it, which is the standard use in property. Note that outright sits before the noun as an adjective and after the verb as an adverb, and the two are easily muddled.

Definitions of outright

  1. 1adverboutrightCompletely and openly.B2+

    “She told him outright that she didn't love him.”

  2. 2adjectiveundisguisedComplete and undisguised.B2

    “The film was an outright failure, and the studio lost millions.”

outright is a manner of completeness.

Where it comes from

Middle English outright is out plus right, in the older sense of right meaning straight or directly. Straightaway and downright are built on the same idea.

  1. Middle English

    outright

  2. English, today

    outright

From Middle English outright. by surface analysis, en + out + right.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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