What does "exoteric" mean?
A person who is not part of an enlightened inner circle, and not privy to esoteric knowledge; an outsider, an uninitiate.
Exoteric
/ˌɛksə(ʊ)ˈtɛɹɪk/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person who is not part of an enlightened inner circle, and not privy to esoteric knowledge; an outsider, an uninitiate.
- Grammar: exoteric is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: accessible, articulate, comprehensible, fathomable.
- Useful contrasts: arcane, esoteric, gnostic.
- Usage evidence: In one of his works he [Samuel Taylor Coleridge] has ascribed to [Immanuel] Kant the foppery of an exoteric and an esoteric doctrine; and that upon grounds wholly untenable.
How to use "exoteric"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "exoteric" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "exoteric" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "exoteric" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "exoteric" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person who is not part of an enlightened inner circle, and not privy to esoteric knowledge; an outsider, an uninitiate.
"I am an exoteric—utterly unable to explain the mysteries of this new poetical faith. I only know that it is a faith, which except a man do keep pure and undefiled, without doubt he shall be called a blockhead."
Adjective
- 1 Of a doctrine, information, etc.: suitable to be imparted to the public without secrecy or other reservations.
"In one of his works he [Samuel Taylor Coleridge] has ascribed to [Immanuel] Kant the foppery of an exoteric and an esoteric doctrine; and that upon grounds wholly untenable."
- 2 Of a doctrine, information, etc.: suitable to be imparted to the public without secrecy or other reservations.; Of a person: not part of an enlightened inner circle; not privy to esoteric knowledge. broadly
"Near-synonym: uninitiated"
- 3 Capable of being fully or readily comprehended by the public; accessible; also, having an obvious application.
"The diſcourſe and doctrine vvhich he [Aristotle] delivered to his Diſciples vvas of tvvo kinds. One he called Exoterick, the other Acroatick. Exoterick vvere thoſe vvhich conduced to Rhetorick, meditation, nice diſputes, and the knovvledge of civill things. Acroatick thoſe in vvhich more remote and ſubtile Philoſophy vvas handled, and ſuch things as pertain to the contemplation of nature, and Dialectick Diſceptations."
- 4 External. archaic
"[M]y Deſign […] is not to Theologize in Philoſophy, but to dravv an Exoterick Fence or exteriour Fortification about Theologie; […]"
- 5 Having wide currency; popular, prevalent. archaic, rare
"[T]he courtiers, who played at divers games in public, had a way of exciting the admiration and amazement of the commoner sort of spectators, by producing heaps of golden counters, and seeming to stake immense sums, when all the time they had previously agreed among one another, that each guinea shoud stand for a shilling, or each hundred guineas for one.—So that in fact, two modes of calculation were used for the initiated and uninitiated, and this isoteric and exoteric practice goes on continually to this hour, among literary performers in the intellectual, as well as among courtiers in the fashionable world.— […]"
Adjective
- 1 suitable for the general public wordnet
Example
"In one of his works he [Samuel Taylor Coleridge] has ascribed to [Immanuel] Kant the foppery of an exoteric and an esoteric doctrine; and that upon grounds wholly untenable."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "exoteric"?
Common synonyms include: accessible, articulate, comprehensible, fathomable, intelligible, outward.
How do you use "exoteric" in a sentence?
In one of his works he [Samuel Taylor Coleridge] has ascribed to [Immanuel] Kant the foppery of an exoteric and an esoteric doctrine; and that upon grounds wholly untenable.
How do you pronounce "exoteric"?
Pronounced /ˌɛksə(ʊ)ˈtɛɹɪk/.
Etymology
The adjective is a learned borrowing from Late Latin exōtericus + English -ic (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘of or pertaining to’). Exōtericus is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐξωτερῐκός (exōterĭkós, “exterior, external, outside”, adjective), from ἐξωτέρω (exōtérō, “more exterior”) (the comparative form of ἔξω (éxō, “external, outer”) (ultimately from ἐκ (ek, “beyond; outside”, preposition), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs (“out”)) + -τέρω (-térō) (an inflected form of -τερος (-teros, suffix forming comparative forms)) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix forming adjectives). The noun is derived from the adjective.