external

external — adjective

1. relating to the outside of an object, person, or place, or arising beyond a part

1.形容詞B1
釋義

relating to the outside of an object, person, or place, or arising beyond a particular organisation or setting.

例句

Wei painted the external walls of the house a pale cream colour.

collocation: external walls

The police found no signs of external injury on the victim.

collocation: external injury

同義詞
  • outer

    slightly less formal; 'outer layer' is a common collocation while 'external layer' sounds technical

  • outside

    everyday alternative; 'outside wall' is more natural in conversation than 'external wall'

反義詞
  • internal

    direct opposite; 'internal' refers to the inside of a system, object, or organisation

文法句型

external + noun

be external to + noun phrase

用法筆記

Attributive only — you can say 'the external wall' but NOT 'the wall is external' in everyday use. The pattern 'external to + noun phrase' is more formal and common in academic or business writing.

常見錯誤

❌The external of the building looks old.
✅The outside of the building looks old.
💡'external' is an adjective, not a noun, when referring to physical surfaces. Use 'outside' or 'exterior' as the noun.

2. relating to or involving other countries, especially in matters of trade, politi

2.形容詞B2
釋義

relating to or involving other countries, especially in matters of trade, politics, finance, or international relations.

例句

The government wants to attract more external investment from Asian markets.

collocation: external investment

Indra studied external trade policies between the EU and Southeast Asia.

collocation: external trade

同義詞
  • foreign

    more common in everyday use; 'foreign policy' is interchangeable with 'external policy' in formal writing

  • international

    broader scope; includes multilateral and global contexts rather than strictly bilateral cross-border matters

反義詞
  • domestic

    the opposite in political and economic contexts; 'domestic trade' vs 'external trade'

文法句型

external + noun (trade, policy, affairs, investment)

用法筆記

Commonly paired with nouns like 'trade', 'policy', 'affairs', 'relations', 'investment', 'debt'. In this sense 'external' contrasts with 'domestic' (inside the country), not with 'internal'.

常見錯誤

❌The company has many external partners in the same city.
✅The company has many international partners in the same city.
💡'external' for 'foreign' implies cross-border relationships, not just outside one organisation.

3. based on outward appearance only, having little connection with what is real, im

3.形容詞C1
釋義

based on outward appearance only, having little connection with what is real, important, or essential about a person, situation, or thing.

例句

Ada felt their praise was purely external, not a genuine recognition of her work.

adverb: purely external

The logo changes were merely external and did nothing to fix the brand's real problems.

adverb: merely external

同義詞
  • superficial

    more direct and common in everyday speech; 'superficial' carries a clearer negative judgement

  • outward

    neutral register; 'outward calm' describes appearance without implying deception or emptiness

反義詞
  • essential

    what is truly important or fundamental rather than surface-level

  • intrinsic

    belonging naturally to something rather than being merely apparent

文法句型

purely/merely/strictly external

external + noun (appearance, show, formality)

用法筆記

Often modified by 'purely', 'merely', 'only', or 'strictly' to emphasise the contrast with inner reality. Can be used predicatively (e.g. 'the harmony was only external'), unlike the OUTSIDE sense.

常見錯誤

❌His kindness was external.
✅His kindness was only a superficial show.' or 'His kindness was purely external.
💡Without a modifier like 'purely' or 'merely', the sentence sounds odd because this sense almost always needs emphasis on the outward-only nature.

external — noun