What does externalized mean?
"Externalized" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "externalize," meaning to bring something internal into outward, observable form. A person may externalize emotions—expressing anger through slamming doors rather than naming it—or externalize blame, attributing personal failings to others. In economics, the word has a precise and influential use: when a business externalizes costs, it pushes expenses such as pollution or public-health damage onto society instead of paying them itself, so market prices understate the true cost of production. The term carries a largely formal register, appearing most often in psychology, economics, sociology, and criticism. Its connotation depends on context: in therapy it may describe healthy expression, while in economics it usually signals a problem—an unpriced burden shifted onto unwilling others.
verb (past tense and past participle of 'externalize')To express or represent something internal—such as feelings, thoughts, or costs—in an outward, observable form; or to shift costs or consequences onto parties outside oneself or one's organization.
- To give outward expression to inner feelings, thoughts, or conflicts.
- (economics) To transfer costs or negative consequences of an activity onto third parties or society rather than bearing them oneself.
- (psychology/psychoanalysis) To attribute one's own internal impulses or problems to outside forces or other people.
"He externalized his anxiety through constant joking."
"The company externalized the environmental costs of its operations onto local communities."
"In therapy she learned that she had long externalized her self-criticism, hearing it as her mother's voice."
Economists say polluters don't pay for the damage they cause—they simply externalized it onto everyone else.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of externalized
"Externalize" derives from "external," from Latin "externus" meaning "outward" or "outside," itself from "exterus" (comparative of "ex," "out of"). The verb formed with the suffix -ize, borrowed via Greek-derived French/Latin -iser, took hold in English in the nineteenth century. Cognates sharing the Latin root include "exterior," "externality," and "extrinsic" (via a related form).
Related word forms
How externalized is actually used
Formal to academic register; common in psychology, economics, and literary criticism. In economics, 'externalized costs' is a technical term for unpriced side effects such as pollution.
Easily confused with externalized
'Externalized' means to make something internal visible or outward-facing, while 'extolled' means praised highly.