1
as in extrinsic
not being a vital part of or belonging to something
the defendant's socioeconomic status must be regarded as entirely external to his guilt or innocence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in outer
situated on the outside or farther out
the external chambers of the ancient tomb gave little indication of the magnificence of the innermost chamber
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of external
Khurram Iqbal, an associate professor of security studies at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, says both external and internal factors created the environment for this crackdown to take place, including Pakistan's recent realignment with the United States.
—
NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
Able to sync external retirement accounts to your Betterment retirement goal so all your accounts are in one place.
—Jasmin Suknanan, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2025
The deeply goyish Joanne starts to weigh religious conversion as her relationship with Noah gets more serious, an intriguing internal conflict the show illustrated with external obstacles like Noah’s mother Bina (Tovah Feldshuh) and sister-in-law Esther (Jackie Tohn).
—Alison Herman, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025
Hip-hop doesn’t need any external prescription or AI co-signs to justify its artistry.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for external
NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
Able to sync external retirement accounts to your Betterment retirement goal so all your accounts are in one place.
—Jasmin Suknanan, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2025
The deeply goyish Joanne starts to weigh religious conversion as her relationship with Noah gets more serious, an intriguing internal conflict the show illustrated with external obstacles like Noah’s mother Bina (Tovah Feldshuh) and sister-in-law Esther (Jackie Tohn).
—Alison Herman, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025
Hip-hop doesn’t need any external prescription or AI co-signs to justify its artistry.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for external
Recent Examples of Synonyms for external
Adjective
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Gray emphasized that true free play is not oriented around extrinsic goals, such as earning a high grade from a teacher or impressing a soccer coach.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
17 Oct. 2025
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Those new to options trading should understand basic terms (e.g., premiums, extrinsic and intrinsic value, moneyness) and know the Greeks (measurements of an option’s sensitivity to various factors).—
Michael Martin,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In this case, the outer layer appears to have failed, prompting the crew to execute a precautionary diversion, which is a standard safety measure in such scenarios.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Oct. 2025
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Instead memory traces are distributed throughout networks in the brain’s outer layers.—
Allison Parshall,
Scientific American,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Each was played a stream of speech that contained relevant comments and other irrelevant information, all spoken in a flat tone.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
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Its cable properties are increasingly irrelevant in the market, and networks like Logo, MTV and TV Land have been starved of new content for years.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Featuring naval architecture and exterior lines by Incat Crowther, the vessel showcases a lightweight composite hull designed for structural integrity and fuel efficiency.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
22 Oct. 2025
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Notable exterior changes include new lights, grilles, roof racks, rear spoilers and wheels.—
Mark Phelan,
Freep.com,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Whether or not Takaichi's administration is as tough on immigration issues as her campaign rhetoric suggests, some observers warn that failing to actively invest in and integrate foreign nationals into society will have lasting harm on Asia’s second-largest economy.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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Chen kept ledgers of bribes, according to the indictment, and in 2019 a $3 million yacht was bought for a senior official in an unnamed foreign government.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Our commerce writer Julia Harrison writes that her Moccamaster One Cup is a delight, principally because of its simplicity as a drip coffee maker—free of extraneous frothers or digital interfaces or timers.—
Blake Bakkila,
Architectural Digest,
8 Oct. 2025
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If someone is furloughed, the thinking goes, they could more easily be seen as extraneous, giving the Administration an easier path to arguing they aren’t needed at all.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Although individual plants have a lifespan of 30-90 years, adventitious shoots grow up from roots.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
5 July 2025
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The patchy and adventitious quality of Jameson’s reconstruction must make clear his difference as a thinker.—
Mark Greif,
Harper's Magazine,
26 July 2024
Adjective
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Past outages on this scale have been caused by a wide variety of errors, including faulty updates, the accidental injection of bad code, or a change to third-party software that doesn’t play nicely with a service.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
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In the caption of her Instagram post, King revealed that the accidental encounter went better than some might think.—
Liza Esquibias,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“External.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/external. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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