externals
- 1Plural of external.
He insisted that genuine character matters far more than externals.
The review board fixated on externals while ignoring the deeper structural problems.
Note
The plural does most of this noun's work. When the meaning is superficial features or outward appearance, the word is normally plural, so you meet externals far more often than an external. It usually stands against something deeper, such as character, substance or structure. In programming, by contrast, an external is an ordinary countable variable, and the plural simply means more than one.
externals is a form of external
external, noun: Outward features or appearances of something, as opposed to its inner nature or essential character. Full entry
- Forms
- externalexternals plural
- Spelling
- external → externals: add -s
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /z/.
Use it in a sentence
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