Etymologically
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outright

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:07. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • Adverb: /aʊtˈɹaɪt/[1]
  • Adjective, verb: /ˈaʊtɹaɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English outright (“completely; straight onward”) (also outriȝt),[2] a compound from English out + right.[3][4][5][6] The OED analyses the second element as the suffix -right, as in downright.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Two adverb senses are both recorded about 1300 in the South English Legendary: "completely, openly, without holding back" and "straightaway, at once".[7][2][3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the adverb could also mean "in a straight line, directly out", a sense the OED records from about 1400 until 1849.[7][2] The time sense "immediately" faded after the early 18th century,[7] though Johnson (1755) still gave "immediately; without delay" as its first meaning, before "completely".[8] From about 1600 it was used of a transaction completed at once and without conditions, as in buying something outright.[7] The adjective appeared in 1532, in Thomas More, meaning "downright, out-and-out",[7][4] and the sense "complete, unconditional" followed in 1845.[7] In American baseball, outright has been a verb since 1966: to release a player unconditionally.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – adverb, completely, openly; also at once.[7][2]
  • c. 1400 – straight ahead, directly onward (obsolete).[7]
  • 1532 – adjective, downright, out-and-out.[7][4]
  • 1600 – of a sale, with ownership passing at once and without conditions.[7]
  • 1845 – adjective, complete, unconditional.[7]
  • 1966 – verb, to release a baseball player unconditionally.[7]

Modern meaning

Adverb

  1. Completely and entirely: the plan was rejected outright.
  2. Openly, without holding back: she laughed outright.
  3. At once, on the spot: the driver was killed outright.
  4. Without conditions or further payments owing: they own the farm outright.

Adjective

  1. Complete, total, out-and-out: an outright fabrication.
  2. Without reservation or conditions; unconditional: an outright grant.

Word family

  • outrightly
  • outrightness

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.