ALRIGHT
alright
(adjective) nonstandard usage
okay, O.K., all right, alright
(adverb) in a satisfactory or adequate manner; âsheâll do okay on her ownâ; âheld up all right under pressureâ; (âalrightâ is a nonstandard variant of âall rightâ)
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
alright (not comparable)
(often, proscribed) Alternative form of all right; satisfactory; okay; in acceptable order.
Synonyms: acceptable, adequate, fine, Thesaurus:satisfactory
Interjection
alright
(informal) Used to indicate acknowledgement or acceptance; OK.
(UK, informal) A generic greeting; hello; how are you.
Synonym: Thesaurus:hello
Usage notes
• Some distinguish between alright and all right by using alright to mean "fine, good, okay" and all right to mean "all correct". Alternatively (or in addition to the previous), Alright may be used as an interjection akin to "OK", whilst all right is used in the sense of "unharmed, healthy".
• The contracted term is considered nonstandard by Garner's Modern American Usage and American Heritage Dictionary. Indeed, the Oxford English Dictionary notes that although analogous forms exist in words such as already, altogether, and always, "the contracted form is strongly criticized in the vast majority of usage guides, but without cogent reasons". The Oxford Dictionaries also conclude that "alright remains nonstandard" and that it is "still regarded as being unacceptable in formal writing". Other dictionaries and style manuals also consider it incorrect or less correct than all right.
Source: Wiktionary