externalize
/eks'tə:nəlaiz/ Cách viết khác : (externalise) /eks'tə:nəlaiz/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To make something external or objective: To give outward, concrete, or observable form to something that is internal, abstract, or subjective.
- To attribute external reality to: To regard or treat an internal process, feeling, or thought as if it were an objective, external fact.
Usage
- The verb "externalize" is used to describe the process of expressing inner states (like thoughts, feelings, or conflicts) in an outward, tangible manner.
- It is often used in psychological, philosophical, and business contexts.
- It is a transitive verb, requiring a direct object (e.g., externalize a feeling, externalize costs).
Examples
- Psychology:
- Business/Finance:
- General:
Advanced Usage
- In Psychology/Psychoanalysis: Refers to the unconscious defense mechanism of projecting one's internal feelings or conflicts onto the external world or other people.
- In his paranoia, he externalized his own self-doubt, believing his colleagues were criticizing him.
- In Economics/Business: Refers to shifting costs or activities from within an organization to outside it.
- Manufacturers often externalize environmental costs, leaving society to pay for pollution cleanup.
Variants and Related Words
- Externalization (noun): The act or process of externalizing.
- The externalization of her anxiety took the form of constant worry about her family's health.
- External (adjective): Belonging to, situated on, or coming from the outside.
- Internalize (verb): The opposite action; to make attitudes, behaviors, or values part of one's nature by learning or unconscious assimilation.
Synonyms
- Project: To attribute one's own feelings or desires to another person.
- Objectify: To treat a person or abstract concept as an object.
- Materialize: To represent or cause to appear in bodily or physical form.
- Outsource (specific to business context): To obtain goods or services from an outside supplier.
Antonyms
- Internalize: To incorporate within oneself.
- Suppress: To restrain or inhibit from expression.
- Introject: To unconsciously incorporate the attitudes or qualities of others into one's own personality.
Related Phrases/Concepts
- Externalizing behavior (Psychology): A term for problematic behaviors directed outwardly toward the social environment (e.g., aggression, disobedience), as opposed to internalizing behaviors (e.g., anxiety, withdrawal).
- Externalized cost (Economics): A cost of production not borne by the producer but by society at large (e.g., pollution).
Verb
- make external or objective, or give reality to
- language externalizes our thoughts
- regard as objective