outlook

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outlook^¹

/ˈaʊtˌlʊk/ US, UK
/ˈawtˌlɵk/ British, Southern, Standard
/ˈæɔtˌlʊk/ Australia
/ˈæʊtˌlʊk/ New Zealand
/ˈʌʊtˌlʉk/ Scotland
/ˌaʊtˈlʊk/ US, UK
/ˌawtˈlɵk/ British, Southern, Standard
/ˌæɔtˈlʊk/ Australia
/ˌæʊtˈlʊk/ New Zealand
/ˌʌʊtˈlʉk/ Scotland

Rhymes with -ʊk

noun outlooks

A place from which something can be viewed. Perched on the edge of the cliff was a hidden outlook.
Similar: vantage point, overlook, prospect
The view from such a place. Fully air-conditioned and fluorescently lit, it is strikingly decorated and there is a magnificent outlook through the wide windows.
An attitude or point of view. He has a positive outlook on life.
Similar: attitude, opinion, perspective, point of view, vantage point, viewpoint, standpoint
Expectation for the future. The outlook for temperature rises is worrying.
Similar: expectation, prognosis, prospect

verb outlooks · outlooking · outlooked

archaic, intransitive, literary To face or look in an outward direction. This old man with the ſythe, olde father Tyme they call, / And hir his daughter Trueth, which holdeth yonder Booke, / Whome he out of his rocke hath brought forth to vs all, / From whence this many yeares ſhe durſt not once out looke.
Similar: look out
archaic, transitive To look at (someone) so long or intently that they look away; to win or prevail over (someone or something). [...] I drew this gallant head of war, And cull’d these fiery spirits from the world, To outlook conquest and to win renown Even in the jaws of danger and of death.
Similar: outstare, face down, browbeat, overcome
obsolete, transitive To be more attractive than (someone or something). 1731, Mary Delany, letter dated 4 October, 1731, in George Paston (ed.), Mrs. Delany (Mary Granville): A Memoir, 1700-1788, London: Grant Richards, 1900, p. 64, Nobody’s equipage outlooked ours except my Lord Lieutenant’s, but in every respect I must say Mrs. Clayton outshines her neighbours …
obsolete, transitive To inspect throughly; to select. 1689, Charles Cotton, “The Angler’s Ballad” in Poems on Several Occasions, London: Thomas Bassett et al., p. 76, Away to the Brook, All your Tackle out look, Here’s a day that is worth a year’s wishing; See that all things be right, For ’tis a very spight To want tools when a man goes a fishing.
obsolete, transitive To look beyond (something). [...] to fit minds to so even a temper, that both should round the same circle, and never out-look the Horizon of their reciprocal Interest, is a work altogether impossible.

outlook^²

Where it comes from

From out + look. Perhaps influenced by Chinese 外表 (literally “outside + surface”) and English look (“appearance”). Same etymology as Cantonese outlook.

noun

Hong Kong, colloquial, no plural look; appearance How ignorant you are! Admiring the outlook of a same sex person has nothing to do with gay! Some of my male friends admire Andy Lau's and Leslie Cheung's looks quite a lot, but unfortunately, they are NOT gay, not BI, they are totally STRAIGHT!

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: prospect, lookout, mentality, expectation, viewpoint, perspective, standpoint, vista, view, speculation, optical, sight, vision, looking, context, appearance

Translations

Every language

noun place from which something can be viewed

Português	perspectiva
Deutsch	Aussichtspunkt
Italiano	punto di vista
Русский	наблюда́тельный пункт nabljudátelʹnyj punkt

noun view from such a place

Français	vue
Deutsch	Aussicht, Ausblick
Italiano	vista
Română	vedere, perspectivă, priveliște
Русский	вид vid, панора́ма panoráma

noun attitude, point of view

Español	parecer
Português	ponto de vista
Français	point de vue
Deutsch	Einstellung, Ansichten
Italiano	punto di vista
Română	punct de vedere, perspectivă
Русский	то́чка зре́ния tóčka zrénija, взгляд vzgljad

noun expectation for the future

Français	perspective
Deutsch	Aussicht, Ausblick
Italiano	prospettiva
Română	perspectivă
Русский	перспекти́вы perspektívy, ви́ды на бу́дущее vídy na búduščeje, ви́ды vídy

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MLA

"outlook." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/outlook. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

outlook. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/outlook

Chicago

"outlook." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/outlook.

BibTeX

@misc{outlook_2026,
  title = {outlook},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/outlook},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}