Externality
//ɛkstəˈnælɪti// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The state of being external or externalized. uncountable
"But according to the theory of the externality of relations, terms acquire from their new relations an added character, which does not either condition, or necessarily alter, the character which they already possess."
- 2 the quality or state of being outside or directed toward or relating to the outside or exterior wordnet
- 3 A thing that is external relative to something else. countable
- 4 An impact, positive or negative, on any party not involved in a given economic transaction or act. countable
"Waste is a negative externality arising from consumption."
Example
More examples"But according to the theory of the externality of relations, terms acquire from their new relations an added character, which does not either condition, or necessarily alter, the character which they already possess."
Etymology
From external + -ity. In the economic sense coined by British economist Alfred Marshall in 1890.
Related phrases
More for "externality"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.