External Meaning
/ɪkˈstɜː.nəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOutside of something; on the exterior.
adjOutside of something; on the exterior., Situated near or toward the surface of the body.
Sentence Examples
External pressure grows ever more intense.
Save it on the external hard drive.
The external walls of the building
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The company hired an ____ consultant to review their financial records and practices.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company's problems were mostly due to ____ factors, such as the global economic crisis.
Word Origin & History
From Late Middle English, from Medieval Latin externus (“outward, external”), from exter/exterus (“on the outside, outward”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Her virtues graced with external gifts."
— 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v]:
"Of all external things, […] / She [Fancy] forms imaginations, aery shapes."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"The external circumstances are greatly different."
— 1850, Richard Chenevix Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord:
"To a non-Christian who has never experienced but only observed the externals of Christianity, it appears to be merely another spiritual system, but to a person who has left one of the other religions and embraced the Christian faith, it is most definitely The Way, and all else pales to insignificance."
— 1979 December 22, S. J. Harris, “Life And Spirit”, in Gay Community News, volume 2, number 22, page 5:
"They had been such declared, such personal enemies, that, even in a court, it seemed wonderful how a decent external could be given to their reconciliation."
— 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXV, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 298:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The company hired an ____ consultant to review their financial records and practices.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company's problems were mostly due to ____ factors, such as the global economic crisis.