outlook

outlook — noun

1. the condition that seems likely in the time ahead for a person, activity, or sit

1.nounC1
Definition

the condition that seems likely in the time ahead for a person, activity, or situation

Example

The job outlook for new teachers looks better this year.

outlook for + group

After the storm, the outlook for local farms remained uncertain.

Common collocations
  • economic outlook
  • job outlook
  • long-term outlook
  • outlook for growth
Synonyms
  • prospect

    often sounds slightly more formal and can stress chances of success

  • forecast

    focuses more on a prediction based on facts or data

  • future

    a broader everyday word that does not itself suggest evaluation

Grammar Patterns

outlook for + noun

improve the outlook for + noun

economic outlook

Usage Note

Often appears after adjectives such as good, poor, bleak, or bright, and commonly takes for before the person, industry, or situation being discussed. Distinguish from sense 2, which is about someone's general way of thinking rather than events that are likely to happen.

Common Mistakes

The future outlook of the company is good.
The outlook for the company is good.
This sense commonly uses 'outlook for', so adding 'future' or using 'of' is usually unnecessary.

2. the usual way a person or group sees life, events, or the world

2.nounC2
Definition

the usual way a person or group sees life, events, or the world

Example

Years abroad gave Hana a wider outlook on life.

outlook on life

Ken's calm outlook helped the team after the bad news.

Common collocations
  • positive outlook
  • negative outlook
  • outlook on life
  • broad outlook
Synonyms
  • attitude

    the most general word for how someone thinks or feels about something

  • mindset

    stresses a fixed or habitual mental pattern

  • perspective

    often highlights the angle from which something is understood

Grammar Patterns

outlook on + noun

outlook on life

positive outlook

Usage Note

This sense is often modified by positive, negative, hopeful, or calm, and it commonly takes on before the area of life being discussed. Distinguish from sense 1, which describes likely future conditions, not a person's attitude.

Common Mistakes

My outlook about life changed after college.
My outlook on life changed after college.
This sense normally uses 'on', especially in the common phrase 'outlook on life'.

3. the scene you can look out at from a building or another fixed place

3.nounC1
Definition

the scene you can look out at from a building or another fixed place

Example

The cabin's outlook over the lake was clear at sunrise.

outlook over + place

The apartment has an outlook over the old harbor.

Common collocations
  • sea outlook
  • outlook over the lake
  • room with an outlook
  • open outlook
Synonyms
  • view

    the most common everyday word for what you can see from a place

  • scene

    focuses more on the picture itself than on the viewing position

  • prospect

    a more literary or formal word in this physical sense

Grammar Patterns

outlook over + place

room with an outlook

outlook from + place

Usage Note

Common in hotel, travel, and property descriptions, often with over, toward, or from. In everyday speech, many speakers choose view more often than outlook for this meaning.

Common Mistakes

The hotel room has a beautiful outlook to the sea.
The hotel room has a beautiful outlook over the sea.
With this sense, English more often uses 'over' before the place you can see.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Outlook' is a broad word for how the future seems likely to develop, often for jobs, business, health, or the economy. 'Prospect' can be close in meaning, but it often sounds a little more formal and may stress a chance of success. 'Forecast' is more technical and points to a prediction based on data, especially for weather, sales, or economic trends. 'Prognosis' is mostly used in medicine for the expected course of an illness. So you can talk about the job outlook for graduates, an improved prospect of peace, a sales forecast for next year, or a doctor's prognosis after surgery.

outlook ↗prospect ↗forecast ↗prognosis

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

This noun was formed in English from 'out' and 'look'. It first referred to the act or result of looking outward, which helps explain the physical sense of a view from a place. Later, English extended it to figurative meanings for a person's mental attitude and for how the future seems likely to develop.