external

[ik-stur-nl]

adjective

1. of or relating to the outside or outer part; outer.

   an external surface.

   Synonyms: exterior, outermost
   Antonyms: internal

2. Medicine/Medical.,  to be applied to the outside of a body, as a remedy.

   for external use only.

3. situated or being outside something; acting or coming from without.

   external influences.

   Antonyms: internal

4. pertaining to the outward or visible appearance or show.

   external acts of worship.

5. pertaining to or concerned with foreign countries.

   external affairs;

   external commerce.

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

7. 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.

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

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

3. of or involving foreign nations; foreign

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

5. anatomy situated on or near the outside of the body

   the external ear

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

7. (of a student) studying a university subject extramurally

8. 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. a student taking an extramural subject

Other Word Forms

• externally adverb
• nonexternal adjective
• nonexternally adverb
• quasi-external adjective
• quasi-externally adverb
• semiexternal adjective
• semiexternally adverb
• subexternal adjective
• subexternally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of external¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of external¹

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

Example Sentences

The external members will be recognized experts in fields relevant to the FPC’s work, the central bank said Tuesday.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

“It is also because the euro area has taken internal measures to boost growth that have helped counter external weakness.”

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The guide includes Model Context Protocol, or MCP, an open-source standard introduced by Anthropic that connects models to external systems.

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Large U.S. pharma companies want to enhance their internally developed pipelines with external drug candidates to improve their long-term growth prospects.

Read more on Barron's

We’re using AI to take all of our internal data and all of the appropriate external data, and put it at the fingertips of every salesperson.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• extraneous 
• foreign