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
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
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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There are a few different ways to interpret this most recent manifestation of the Administration’s talent for hypocrisy.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
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Perhaps some paper manifestations just in time for the year of the Fire Horse.—
Xuan Juliana Wang,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Handout/Magen David Adom The MDA shared an image of first responders running to the scene of a fire in a residential area in Petah Tiqva, east of Tel Aviv, too.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Mar. 2026
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Hyland’s images convey this sense of loneliness.—
Peter Hessler,
New Yorker,
21 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Externalization.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/externalization. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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