as in manifestation
a visible representation of something abstract (as a quality)
bizarre paintings that are the externalization of a very troubled psyche
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Recent Examples of externalization
If a company dumps toxic waste into a local river and your children get sick and die, there is no value lost, there are no damages, no liability—the ultimate rationale for Milton Friedman’s externalization of costs.
—
Andrew Behar, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
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
Andrew Behar, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for externalization
Noun
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The pop star’s headlining set was a two-year-old manifestation come to life.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
17 Apr. 2026
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Tickets for the event, which includes yoga, manifestation and sound healing, start at 2,699 Australian dollars ($1,912) per person.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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There are also other artists, like Patricia Frischer, who has been doing a series of images about the #MeToo movement and women’s rights, which are also under attack at the moment.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Apr. 2026
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In conflict, online images and videos have become essential to countering misinformation and propaganda.—
Jane Lytvynenko,
NBC news,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Externalization.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/externalization. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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