Ulterior Meaning
/ʌlˈtɪə.ɹɪə/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjSituated beyond, or on the farther side.
adjBeyond what is obvious or evident.
Sentence Examples
You may rest assured; I have no ulterior motive in making this donation.
I think Tom has no ulterior motives.
I don't think Tom has any ulterior motives.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She had an ____ motive for helping him, which was to get his money.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The manager wondered if there was an ____ motive behind the employee's sudden request for a long and unpaid leave today.
Word Origin & History
From Latin ulterior (“further, more distant”), from ulter (“that is beyond”) + -ior (“more”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It [Spain] was divided by the Romans into two provinces, Citeriour and Ulteriour, nearer and farther, that is, from Rome."
— 1827, William C[hanning] Woodbridge, Emma Willard, “Hispania or Spain”, in Universal Geography, Ancient and Modern; on the Principles of Comparison and Classification, 2nd edition, Hartford, Conn.: Published by Oliver D. Cooke & Co. J. & J. Harper, printers, →OCLC, page 23:
"Both citerior and ulterior locations (and corresponding contact locations) are marked similarly. Complex prepositions with mua 'front' […] and tua 'back' […] can denote citerior and ulterior locations respectively, while tafa 'side' […] can denote either citerior or ulterior locations."
— 2000, Niko Besnier, “Morphology”, in Tuvaluan: A Polynesian Language of the Central Pacific (Descriptive Grammars), London; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 347:
"Let a watch be contrived and constructed ever so ingeniously: be its parts ever so many, ever so complicated, ever so finely wrought, or artificially put together, it cannot go without a weight or spring, that is, without a force independent of, and ulteriour to, its mechanism."
— 1810, William Paley, G[eorge] W[ilson] Meadley, “Of the Personality of the Deity”, in The Works of William Paley, D.D. in Five Volumes. With a Memoir of His Life, by G. W. Meadley, volume I (Containing Natural Theology), Boston, Mass.: Printed and published by Joshua Belcher, →OCLC, page 285:
"Other aestheticians have said that aesthetic contemplation is nothing more than sustained, concentrated attention to an object in which there is no ulterior purpose and the attention is an end in itself."
— 1975, Peter H[ewitt] Hare, Edward H[enry] Madden, “Aesthetics”, in Causing, Perceiving and Believing: An Examination of the Philosophy of C. J. Ducasse (Philosophical Studies Series in Philosophy; 6), Dordrecht; Boston, Mass.: D. Reidel Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 130:
"The first questions in science are questions of fact, questions immediately answerable on the basis of observation. Beyond such questions are others, ulterior questions which are more interesting to us and which motivate the questions of fact."
— 2012, Alexander Broadie, Agreeable Connexions: Scottish Enlightenment Links with France, Edinburgh: John Donald, →ISBN:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She had an ____ motive for helping him, which was to get his money.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The manager wondered if there was an ____ motive behind the employee's sudden request for a long and unpaid leave today.