outlook

American  

[out-look] / ˈaʊtˌlʊk /

noun

• outlooks
  plural

1. the view or prospect from a particular place.

   Synonyms:

   scene

2. mental attitude or view; point of view.

   one's outlook on life.

   Synonyms:

   approach, position, viewpoint, attitude

3. prospect of the future.

   the political outlook.

   Synonyms:

   scene

4. the place from which an observer looks out; lookout.

5. the act or state of looking out.

6. a watch kept; vigilance; lookout.

   a careful outlook to prevent forest fires.

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outlook British  

/ ˈaʊtˌlʊk /

noun

1. a mental attitude or point of view

2. the probable or expected condition or outcome of something

   the weather outlook

3. the view from a place

4. view or prospect

5. the act or state of looking out

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• outlooks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of outlook

First recorded in 1660–70; out- + look

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

outlook outlooks

But there will be no doubt in the minds of Goldthorpe and the LIV hierarchy that turning this into a profitable organisation will take a serious shift in outlook, and of course in spending.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

And the outlook for future profits is strong, if fans’ appetites are any gauge.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Ross Stores rose 4.4% after the off-price retailer raised its full-year outlook on higher demand from both new and existing customers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

The outlook for the next few weeks looks rather mixed with rain set to return next week, but the ongoing chance of further hot spells during September.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Deciphering the laws of heredity, he wrote, would transform “man’s outlook on the world, and his power over nature” more “than any other advance in natural knowledge that can be foreseen.”

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

When the reporting season first kicked off, they said that investors’ main focus would still be capital expenditure outlooks among artificial-intelligence hyperscalers, with more interest in evidence of returns on those investments into the technology.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

Honeywell Aerospace cut full year 2026 financial guidance while many of its peers are increasing their outlooks.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

Airbus and Boeing presented differing outlooks for their commercial aircraft in coming years, as the aviation sector gathered near London for this week's Farnborough airshow.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

However, from those early outlooks, “things can change quite a bit. Things will change quite a bit.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

In reality, I regularly observe in New Guinea that native societies there differ greatly from each other in their prevalent outlooks.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• chance
• expectation
• forecast
• opportunity
• possibility
• prospect
• risk