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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

externalize.

To make something external or objective.

11 characters4 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb
  1. To make something external or objective.

  2. To represent something abstract or intangible as material; to embody.

  3. To attribute emotions etc to external circumstances; to project.

  4. To direct to others, as costs or benefits.

    Offering high-quality software as open-source externalizes benefits to a large community, but also externalizes much of the cost of testing and further development.
    Operating a low-cost, high-pollution manufacturing process externalizes costs in the form of adverse human health consequences and ecosystem effects.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree English external Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English externalize From external + -ize.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.