external
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to the outside or outer part; outer.
an external surface.
- Antonyms:
- internal
-
Medicine/Medical. to be applied to the outside of a body, as a remedy.
for external use only.
-
situated or being outside something; acting or coming from without.
external influences.
- Antonyms:
- internal
-
pertaining to the outward or visible appearance or show.
external acts of worship.
-
pertaining to or concerned with foreign countries.
external affairs;
external commerce.
-
Zoology, Anatomy. on the side farthest from the body, the median line, or the center of a radially symmetrical form.
-
Metaphysics. of or relating to the world of things, considered as independent of the perceiving mind.
external world.
noun
-
the outside; outer surface; exterior.
-
something that is external.
-
externals, external features, circumstances, etc.; outward appearance; superficialities.
adjective
-
of, situated on, or suitable for the outside; outer
-
coming or acting from without
external evidence from an independent source
-
of or involving foreign nations; foreign
-
of, relating to, or designating a medicine that is applied to the outside of the body
-
anatomy situated on or near the outside of the body
the external ear
-
education denoting assessment by examiners who are not employed at the candidate's place of study
-
(of a student) studying a university subject extramurally
-
philosophy (of objects, etc) taken to exist independently of a perceiving mind
noun
-
(often plural) an external circumstance or aspect, esp one that is superficial or inessential
-
a student taking an extramural subject
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of external
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English; equivalent to extern + -al 1
Explanation
If, as a kid, you didn’t get what you wanted on your birthday, you were probably told that external, or outward, things can’t bring happiness. (It’s a noble idea, but it’s still up for debate, at least in some circles.) External contains the prefix ex- meaning “out of.” It shares this prefix with a number of other words including extraterrestrial (meaning “outside of Earth’s limits") and exclude (meaning “keep someone out”). The opposite of external is internal; again, as you’ve probably been told, it’s the internal things that really matter. What we’re wondering is: Does that include the leather interior in our dream convertible?
Vocabulary lists containing external
List 9
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Narrative Writing, List 3
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Lesson 1
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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.
A former Syrian general wanted for crimes against humanity, external is being bankrolled and protected by the US and Lebanese authorities, a BBC News investigation has found.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
A report commissioned, external by her government released earlier this month calculated the costs of separation as between C$50bn and C$170bn over five years - and a highly unpredictable outlook over the long term.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
They also urged the company to work with third-party safety auditors and to promote a culture of transparency with external safety organizations to help stave off the “risk that something truly catastrophic will happen.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
"And the advice we give to countries is to be very careful of how they deploy their very limited fiscal capacity," she said, adding that some countries may be forced "to rely on external financing".
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
It seems fair to say that Brunelleschi’s image aspires to exemplify what philosophers call a correspondence theory of truth, in which a statement or representation is true if it corresponds to external reality.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
