as in distinctiveness
the quality or state of being different
from an early age he could sense that there was an otherness about him—he was somehow different from the other kids
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Recent Examples of otherness
Putting a woman in the part to begin with already establishes a sense of otherness that breaks away from the tendency to play Christ as a shaggy-haired, pissy hippie.
—
Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Aug. 2025
And where many comics offered sympathetic allegories about prejudice and otherness, the Panther storylines often dispensed with subtext altogether.
—Ekow Eshun
july 11, Literary Hub, 11 July 2025
Superman is Earth’s most famous immigrant, after all, and his otherness gets talked about a lot.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 8 July 2025
The withholding nature of Chernin’s Leo poses some theatrical risks but goes a long way toward explaining how the character’s otherness could be turned against him in such a malignant way.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for otherness
Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Aug. 2025
And where many comics offered sympathetic allegories about prejudice and otherness, the Panther storylines often dispensed with subtext altogether.
—Ekow Eshun
july 11, Literary Hub, 11 July 2025
Superman is Earth’s most famous immigrant, after all, and his otherness gets talked about a lot.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 8 July 2025
The withholding nature of Chernin’s Leo poses some theatrical risks but goes a long way toward explaining how the character’s otherness could be turned against him in such a malignant way.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for otherness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for otherness
Noun
-
There’s no spark of distinctiveness in any of these characters.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
-
However, because capital appropriates the powers of living labor to itself, the distinctiveness of the latter is deeply obscured.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
But at least some of his teammates notice a difference in Guerrero when the opponent is New York.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
-
The sherry needs to be manzanilla or fino, which is a difference in kind to the more oxidative types of sherry, like Amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado, or the very sweet Pedro Ximénez.—
Jason O'Bryan,
Robb Report,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Gender diversity is not pathological, agrees the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, another organization that’s critical of the practice.—
Jen Christensen,
CNN Money,
7 Oct. 2025
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There’s Andrea Labbée, a motivational speaker with a theater background; Gaile Holland, for decades a local ballet teacher whose former students include Winter; and Lisa Nalven, a veteran of notable modern dance companies, now a photographer impassioned by human diversity.—
Guillermo Perez,
Miami Herald,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But an important distinction that also remains murky is input versus output.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
6 Oct. 2025
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The key distinction is that those founders built wealth by focusing on increasing the value of their existing equity stakes, while taking minimal or no compensation, rather than seeking massive equity grants on top of their founder stakes, said Hoffmann.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As for her glam, Strogoff wore her bright blonde hair in loose mermaid waves and darkened her eyebrows to a near black for a bold contrast.—
Starr Bowenbank,
PEOPLE,
2 Oct. 2025
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Neutral heels, by contrast, are having their own moment.—
Maggie Clancy,
Footwear News,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Otherness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/otherness. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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