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exteriority

/ɛkˌstɪəriˈɔrɪti/
IPA guide

Exteriority is a characteristic of being on the outside of something. In books, a character's exteriority is what they do in the outside world, rather than their thoughts and feelings.

Exteriority is a fancy word for "a state of being external or outside." When an architect talks about a building's exteriority, they are literally referring to its outside elements — exterior walls, decks, porches, and roofs — in contrast to the interior rooms. In literature and philosophy, this noun is used for things that happen to a person in the physical world, not their reactions, sensations, or emotions. The Latin root means "on the outside."

Definitions of exteriority
  1. noun
    the quality or state of being outside or directed toward or relating to the outside or exterior
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    types:
    worldliness
    concern with worldly affairs to the neglect of spiritual needs
    type of:
    position, spatial relation
    the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated
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