from the outset vs. from the onset

[Torsten]

Is there a difference between 'from the outset' and 'from the onset'?

TOEIC listening, talks: Promoting the benefits of a corporate computer course

[Diverhank]

I think they are pretty much the same. To nitpick, I think "onset" conveys a bit more of action where "outset" doesn't. For example, a phrase: "Brain damage occurs within minutes from the onset of a stroke" would sound better, imho, than "...the outset of a stroke"

[Alan]

Hi Torsten,

I would use 'from the outset' to suggest from the very beginning as in: You have disliked that woman from the outset, they very day you first saw her.

'From the onset' I would suggest means from the start of something that is going to proceed or continue as in: From the onset we could see that our new new company was going to be a huge success.

Alan
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