exoteric
Americanadjective
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suitable for or communicated to the general public.
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not belonging, limited, or pertaining to the inner or select circle, as of disciples or intimates.
adjective
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intelligible to or intended for more than a select or initiated minority
an exoteric account of a philosophical doctrine
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external; exterior
Other Word Forms
- exoterically adverb
- exotericism noun
Etymology
Origin of exoteric
First recorded in 1645–55; from Late Latin exōtericus “popular (e.g., of books), not technical or abstruse,” from Greek exōterikós “external, outside, popular,” equivalent to exṓter(os) “outer” (from exō- adverb and prefix + -teros comparative suffix also used for natural and complementary pairs) + -ikos adjective suffix; exo-, -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As role model, sheds a dim light, His pick exoteric Gave us Bernie Kerik, Still ready, it seems, to incite.
From New York Times • Aug. 19, 2010
Among the exoteric doings of the human race were the following: Gilbert Murray.
From Time Magazine Archive
In solving this affair, the Bishop had recourse to the more exoteric passages of his criminal literature.
From Time Magazine Archive
The close of philosophy is not the place, even in a general exoteric discussion, to waste a word on what a “notion” means.
From Hegel's Philosophy of Mind by Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich
The chief Gnostic sects held as secret their essential doctrines, and at the same time they had an exoteric statement which they gave to the common people.
From The Eliminator; or, Skeleton Keys to Sacerdotal Secrets by Westbrook, Richard B.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
