external

[ ik-stur-nl ]
See synonyms for external on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of or relating to the outside or outer part; outer: an external surface.

  2. Medicine/Medical. to be applied to the outside of a body, as a remedy: for external use only.

  1. situated or being outside something; acting or coming from without: external influences.

  2. pertaining to the outward or visible appearance or show: external acts of worship.

  3. pertaining to or concerned with foreign countries: external affairs;external commerce.

  4. Zoology, Anatomy. on the side farthest from the body, the median line, or the center of a radially symmetrical form.

  5. Metaphysics. of or relating to the world of things, considered as independent of the perceiving mind: external world.

noun
  1. the outside; outer surface; exterior.

  2. something that is external.

  1. externals, external features, circumstances, etc.; outward appearance; superficialities.

Origin of external

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English; equivalent to extern + -al1

Other words for external

Opposites for external

Other words from external

  • ex·ter·nal·ly, adverb
  • non·ex·ter·nal, adjective, noun
  • non·ex·ter·nal·ly, adverb
  • qua·si-ex·ter·nal, adjective
  • qua·si-ex·ter·nal·ly, adverb
  • sem·i·ex·ter·nal, adjective
  • sem·i·ex·ter·nal·ly, adverb
  • sub·ex·ter·nal, adjective
  • sub·ex·ter·nal·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with external

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use external in a sentence

  • These tree forms, bold and delicate, with such wonderful subtleties of drawing in them, give more than externals.

    Corot | Sidney Allnutt

British Dictionary definitions for external

external

/ (ɪkˈstɜːnəl) /


adjective
  1. of, situated on, or suitable for the outside; outer

  2. coming or acting from without: external evidence from an independent source

  1. of or involving foreign nations; foreign

  2. of, relating to, or designating a medicine that is applied to the outside of the body

  3. anatomy situated on or near the outside of the body: the external ear

  4. education denoting assessment by examiners who are not employed at the candidate's place of study

  5. Australian and NZ (of a student) studying a university subject extramurally

  6. philosophy (of objects, etc) taken to exist independently of a perceiving mind

noun
  1. (often plural) an external circumstance or aspect, esp one that is superficial or inessential

  2. Australian and NZ a student taking an extramural subject

Origin of external

1
C15: from Latin externus outward, from exterus on the outside, from ex out of

Derived forms of external

  • externally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012