outlook
Americannoun
-
the view or prospect from a particular place.
- Synonyms:
- scene
-
mental attitude or view; point of view.
one's outlook on life.
-
prospect of the future.
the political outlook.
- Synonyms:
- scene
-
the place from which an observer looks out; lookout.
-
the act or state of looking out.
-
a watch kept; vigilance; lookout.
a careful outlook to prevent forest fires.
noun
-
a mental attitude or point of view
-
the probable or expected condition or outcome of something
the weather outlook
-
the view from a place
-
view or prospect
-
the act or state of looking out
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of outlook
Explanation
The word outlook describes a belief about the future. Your outlook on the awful present situation might make your outlook for the future turn grim. The noun outlook can also mean the practice of looking out. A guard's outlook on the bank vault must stay watchful and attentive in case there's an attempted robbery. Your outlook on your first job out of college was one of promise and excitement. The word can also mean a characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will handle situations. A pessimistic outlook on life will make you see only the negative.
Vocabulary lists containing outlook
The Poet X
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Tears of a Tiger
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Little Rock Girl 1957
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Levi’s on Wednesday also raised its full-year outlook for the second straight time and increased its quarterly dividend.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 9, 2026
That outlook assumed “no significant worsening of macro-economic pressures on the consumer.”
From MarketWatch • Jul. 9, 2026
But a new spate of strikes by Washington and Tehran in recent days is rattling that outlook.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 8, 2026
The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday modestly downgraded its outlook for the world economy this year, citing the energy shock caused by the Iran war.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026
Thus art, like language, requires that we learn the style and outlook of a country, period, and artist if we are to understand it properly.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
