extratextual

adjective

ex·​tra·​tex·​tu·​al ˌek-strə-ˈteks-chə-wəl How to pronounce extratextual (audio)
-chəl
: of, relating to, or being something outside a literary text

Examples of extratextual in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The book safe can also deliver an extratextual reference in the form of an object literally enveloped in text (albeit an unreadable one), as with the cache of minidiscs and cash concealed within a copy of Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation in The Matrix. Justin Beal, Harper’s Magazine , 14 Dec. 2022 The show is tinged with extratextual sadness, too. Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 13 June 2022 In a show with a number of thrilling extratextual embellishments (Chekhov lovers might not remember the volleyball game in Orchard, but somehow Krymov squeezes one in), the best is a huge new character, a railway timetable sign that seems to have attained consciousness. Helen Shaw, Vulture, 14 May 2022 The character is a big presence in the comic books on which the series is based, and the TV version seemed to rely on that extratextual knowledge to give the character gravitas and depth, rather than actually earning it. Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 20 Oct. 2017 Its pleasures are textual, extratextual, metatextual—the whole damn spectrum. Corey Atad, Esquire, 10 July 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'extratextual.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of extratextual was in 1961

Dictionary Entries Near extratextual

Cite this Entry

“Extratextual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extratextual. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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