Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Not forming an essential or inherent part of a thing; extraneous.
  • adjective Originating from the outside; external.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Outward; external: not of the essence or inner being or nature of a thing.
  • Determined by something else than the subject; extraneous; foreign.
  • In anatomy, originating outside the anatomical limits of a limb, these limits including the pectoral and pelvic arches: applied to certain muscles.
  • In Scots law, not relevant to the point referred: applied to facts and circumstances sworn to by a party on a reference to his oath, which cannot be competently taken as part of the evidence.
  • Synonyms See exterior.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Not contained in or belonging to a body; external; outward; unessential; -- opposed to intrinsic.
  • adjective (Anat.) Attached partly to an organ or limb and partly to some other part; -- said of certain groups of muscles. Opposed to intrinsic.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective external, separable from the thing itself, inessential
  • adjective not belonging to, outside of

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective not forming an essential part of a thing or arising or originating from the outside

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin extrīnsecus, from outside : exter, outside; see exterior + -im, adv. suff. + secus, alongside; see sekw- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin extrinsecus ("from without, without, on the outside"), from *extrim, an assumed adverbial form of exter ("outer, outward") + seccus ("by, on the side")

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Examples

  • "Changes in extrinsic fluorescence in squid axons during voltage-clamp," Science 169, 1322 – 1324 (1970).

    Roger Y. Tsien - Autobiography 2009

  • Intrinsic rewards are more important than extrinsic (or at least short-term extrinsic rewards).

    Tom Vander Ark: Schools That Foster Innovation 2009

  • Intrinsic rewards are more important than extrinsic (or at least short-term extrinsic rewards).

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com 2009

  • Numerous psychological studies have found a general trade-off between the pursuit of so-called extrinsic aspirations — such as wealth, but also fame and image — and intrinsic aspirations, such as building and maintaining strong personal relationships.

    "'Money makes people feel self-sufficient.'" Ann Althouse 2009

  • Numerous psychological studies have found a general trade-off between the pursuit of so-called extrinsic aspirations - such as wealth, but also fame and image - and intrinsic aspirations, such as building and maintaining strong personal relationships.

    A root of many kinds of evil Nomad 2009

  • Numerous psychological studies have found a general trade-off between the pursuit of so-called extrinsic aspirations - such as wealth, but also fame and image - and intrinsic aspirations, such as building and maintaining strong personal relationships.

    Archive 2009-03-01 Nomad 2009

  • If that is the case, then the difference between the propositional attitudes and perception should be elucidated in terms extrinsic to the type of content involved in these states.

    Nonconceptual Mental Content Bermúdez, José 2008

  • In such a case, one is forced to explain the difference between different types of content involving states in terms extrinsic to the nature of their contents; the state-view is one way of explaining this distinction, by appeal to the capacities required of a subject if she is to undergo such states.

    Nonconceptual Mental Content Bermúdez, José 2008

  • The first is whether so-called extrinsic value is really a type of value at all.

    Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Value Zimmerman, Michael J. 2007

  • Also referred to as extrinsic value, time value decays over time.

    Intrinsic Value and Time Value 2006

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