alterity

noun

al·​ter·​i·​ty ȯl-ˈter-ə-tē 

-ˈte-rə-

plural alterities

formal

: otherness

specifically : the quality or state of being radically alien to the conscious self or a particular cultural orientation

… we are likely always to discover unexplored places—an alterity—within ourselves.

—Virginia Anderson

[Jeannette] Lander reflects on food as a marker of difference and cultural alterity, but also as a means of coming together: "Cooking connects all of my worlds."

—Heike Henderson

Did you know?

You’re probably familiar with the verb alter, meaning "to make or become different," and you may not be surprised to learn that it is a relative of "alterity." Both words descend from the Latin word alter, meaning "other (of two)." That Latin alter, in turn, comes from a prehistoric Indo-European word that is also an ancestor of our "alien." "Alterity" has been used in English as a fancy word for "otherness" ("the state of being other") since at least 1642. It remains less common than "otherness" and tends to turn up most often in the context of literary theory or cultural studies.

Examples of alterity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Her genre-bending films explore power and desire in gender, class and alterity. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2026

The key characters share in their alterity and summon the animalistic archetype of the stray, behaviorally and physiologically. — Olivia Bennett, Variety, 12 Aug. 2025

This framing posits the algorithm as a form of alterity, an otherness that aids in self-knowledge. — Sonja Drimmer, Artforum, 1 Apr. 2025

Moving through the world as a hybrid is rather dangerous because many people both fear and blame them for the virus, which opens the show up to explore issues of alterity. — Chancellor Agard, EW.com, 2 June 2021

For Giggs, the whale is a potent but misleading symbol of the ocean’s infinity, its alterity and expansiveness. — Amia Srinivasan, The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Middle English alterite "change, state of being changed, difference," borrowed from Late Latin alteritāt-, alteritās (as translation of Greek heterótēs), from Latin alter "second, other" + -itāt-, -itās -ity — more at alter

First Known Use

1560, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for alterity

• asperity
• austerity
• celerity
• dexterity
• disparity
• hilarity
• molarity
• planarity
• polarity
• posterity
• prosperity
• severity

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