Etymology
Origin of exteriority
Explanation
Exteriority is a characteristic of being on the outside of something. In books, a character's exteriority is what they do in the outside world, rather than their thoughts and feelings. Exteriority is a fancy word for "a state of being external or outside." When an architect talks about a building's exteriority, they are literally referring to its outside elements — exterior walls, decks, porches, and roofs — in contrast to the interior rooms. In literature and philosophy, this noun is used for things that happen to a person in the physical world, not their reactions, sensations, or emotions. The Latin root means "on the outside."
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.
Horror films scare us through exteriority: Image and sound come together to create the illusion of danger.
From New York Times • Oct. 25, 2021
Photos, which are often poised and polished, have a sense of exteriority to them; they are meant to be shown and shared.
From New York Times • Jul. 6, 2021
This form enabled me to segue seamlessly between the past and the present, character interiority and exteriority.
From The Guardian • Oct. 5, 2019
Where they part is in exteriority and ego: Wagner deals with expansion and limitlessness, while Beckett drills deeper into the idea of limitation, nowhere to go.
From The Guardian • Jul. 31, 2014
There is also that of exteriority, of space, of position, and, by opposition, that of external or psychological events.
From The Mind and the Brain Being the Authorised Translation of L'Âme et le Corps by Binet, Alfred
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
