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Showing results for otherness. Search instead for southernness.
Synonyms

otherness

American  
[uhth-er-nis] / ˈʌð ər nɪs /

noun

  1. the state or fact of being different or distinct.

  2. the quality or state of being perceived or treated as different, foreign, strange, etc..

    Certain ethnic groups embrace their otherness.


otherness British  
/ ˈʌðənɪs /

noun

  1. the quality of being different or distinct in appearance, character, etc

"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

Etymology

Origin of otherness

First recorded in 1580–90; other + -ness

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“A lot of them were exploring otherness and self-discovery through the archetypes of the genre because it was a way to express it at a time when those ideas were taboo,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 17, 2026

What Thompson-Hernández’s art so easily dispels, no matter the genre it finds a home in, are all the knotty, misguided and trite representations of otherness in our contemporary world.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 27, 2026

But the sense of otherness remained, even after Carlile married and had two kids with British charity director Catherine Shepherd.

From BBC Oct. 23, 2025

And I hope that any amount of otherness or racism they've experienced, they can find some catharsis and they can be proud to see Asian culture represented.

From Salon Nov. 7, 2023

And her English, her immigrant English, has a touch of otherness that makes it unintentionally prerise.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

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