exoteric
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
exoteric
- /ˌɛksə(ʊ)ˈtɛɹɪk/ UK
- /ˌɛksəˈtɛɹɪk/ US
Rhymes with -ɛɹɪk
Where it comes from
The adjective is a learned borrowing from Late Latin exōtericus + English -ic (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘of or pertaining to’). Exōtericus is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐξωτερῐκός (exōterĭkós, “exterior, external, outside”, adjective), from ἐξωτέρω (exōtérō, “more exterior”) (the comparative form of ἔξω (éxō, “external, outer”) (ultimately from ἐκ (ek, “beyond; outside”, preposition), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs (“out”)) + -τέρω (-térō) (an inflected form of -τερος (-teros, suffix forming comparative forms)) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix forming adjectives).
The noun is derived from the adjective.
adjective more exoteric · most exoteric
-
Of a doctrine, information, etc.: suitable to be imparted to the public without secrecy or other reservations.
In one of his works he [Samuel Taylor Coleridge] has ascribed to [Immanuel] Kant the foppery of an exoteric and an esoteric doctrine; and that upon grounds wholly untenable.
Similar: exoterical · Opposite: esoteric
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Of a person: not part of an enlightened inner circle; not privy to esoteric knowledge.
Near-synonym: uninitiated
Similar: exoterical, uninitiated · Opposite: esoteric
-
Capable of being fully or readily comprehended by the public; accessible; also, having an obvious application.
The diſcourſe and doctrine vvhich he [Aristotle] delivered to his Diſciples vvas of tvvo kinds. One he called Exoterick, the other Acroatick. Exoterick vvere thoſe vvhich conduced to Rhetorick, meditation, nice diſputes, and the knovvledge of civill things. Acroatick thoſe in vvhich more remote and
Similar: commonplace, exoterical, intelligible, ordinary, simple, straightforward, understandable, apprehensible, clear, limpid, comprehensible, explainable · Opposite: arcane, cerebral, esoteric, inscrutable, unintelligible, abstruse, Chinese, dense, enigmatic, fathomless, bottomless, Greek
- External. [M]y Deſign […] is not to Theologize in Philoſophy, but to dravv an Exoterick Fence or exteriour Fortification about Theologie; […]
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Having wide currency; popular, prevalent.
[T]he courtiers, who played at divers games in public, had a way of exciting the admiration and amazement of the commoner sort of spectators, by producing heaps of golden counters, and seeming to stake immense sums, when all the time they had previously agreed among one another, that each guinea sho
Similar: common, prevailing
noun exoterics
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A person who is not part of an enlightened inner circle, and not privy to esoteric knowledge.
I am an exoteric—utterly unable to explain the mysteries of this new poetical faith. I only know that it is a faith, which except a man do keep pure and undefiled, without doubt he shall be called a blockhead.
Similar: noninitiate, uninitiate, outsider · Opposite: esoteric
Translations
Every language
adj of a doctrine, information, etc.: suitable to be imparted to the public without secrecy or other reservations
| Español | exotérico |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 대중적 daejungjeok |
| Português | exotérico |
| Français | exotérique |
| Italiano | essoterico |
| Română | exoteric |
| Русский | экзотери́ческий ekzoteríčeskij, общедосту́пный obščedostúpnyj |
Talk about this word "exoteric." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/exoteric. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. exoteric. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/exoteric "exoteric." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/exoteric.Cite this
@misc{exoteric_2026,
title = {exoteric},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/exoteric},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
