externalization

noun

ex·​ter·​nal·​i·​za·​tion ek-ˌstər-nə-lə-ˈzā-shən How to pronounce externalization (audio)
1
a
: the action or process of externalizing
b
: the quality or state of being externalized
2
: something externalized : embodiment

Examples of externalization in a Sentence

bizarre paintings that are the externalization of a very troubled psyche
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Art is an externalization of our imagination and need to express ourselves. Roger Sands, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025 Virtuoso delivers accurate externalization and localization of sound, ensuring mix decisions translate well to loudspeakers. Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024 But this depiction of public shaming feels like a paranoid fantasy, an externalization of May’s guilt, rather than a believable development. Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2024 Interludes in which the accusing faces of prisoners silently fill the frame act as a sort of externalization of his survivor’s guilt. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of externalization was in 1803

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Cite this Entry

“Externalization.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/externalization. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.

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