Word of the Day

: March 12, 2024

ulterior

adjective ul-TEER-ee-er

What It Means

Ulterior describes things (usually motives, objectives, reasons, agendas, etc.) that are kept hidden in order to achieve a particular result.

// Rory found it hard to not be suspicious of the accountant for offering these services for free; her eagerness to help suggested she has an ulterior motive.

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ulterior in Context

"Disney's most recent incarnation of depravity is also one of their more sinister: the smiling nice guy who turns out to be anything but that. Frozen, in fact, received a little flack from mommy bloggers in 2013 due to this choice, with some expressing apprehension about showing children that kindly adults could be hiding ulterior motives. Yet we’d argue that is what makes Hans such an effective villain and early demonstration to children of the fact that folks may not be what they appear." — David Crow, Den of Geek, 4 Nov. 2023

Did You Know?

Although now usually hitched to the front of the noun motive to refer to a hidden need or desire that inspires action, ulterior began its career as an adjective in the 17th century describing something occurring at a subsequent time, such as "ulterior measures" taken after a lawful request. It then started to be used to mean both "more distant" (literally and figuratively) and "situated on the farther side." The "hidden" sense, which is most familiar today, followed after those, with the word modifying nouns like purpose, design, and consequence. Ulterior comes directly from the Latin word for "farther" or "further," itself assumed to be from ulter, meaning "situated beyond."