What does extroverted mean?
Extroverted describes a person whose attention, energy, and interest are directed outward — toward other people, activity, and the external world. Extroverted individuals typically feel energized by social interaction, enjoy conversation and group settings, and tend to be expressive about their thoughts and feelings. The word is the adjective form of extroversion, one of the major traits in modern personality psychology, where it sits at the opposite pole from introversion. Beyond describing temperament, it can also characterize anything oriented externally, such as bold architecture or public-facing design. In everyday use, calling someone extroverted is generally complimentary, suggesting warmth and sociability, though it refers to how a person recharges — through engagement with others — rather than to confidence or skill in social situations. The spelling extraverted survives in formal psychology, but extroverted dominates common usage.
Outgoing, sociable, and energized by interaction with other people.
"As an extroverted manager, she held her best ideas in open brainstorming sessions."
Directed or turned outward toward the external world rather than inward.
"The building's extroverted facade presents its life to the street."
This sense appears mostly in architectural criticism, psychology, and literary description.
Psychologists originally spelled it with an 'a' — extraverted — but everyday English bent the word to match 'introvert,' and the 'o' spelling won in popular usage.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of extroverted
Extroverted derives from extroversion, a term formed on the model of introversion from Latin elements: extra- meaning "outside" and vertere meaning "to turn." The pairing introvert/extrovert was popularized by Carl Jung in the early 20th century as a translation-style rendering of his German terms; Jung himself used the spelling extraversion, closer to the true Latin prefix. The everyday form with -o- arose by analogy with words like extraordinary and became standard in general English.
Related word forms
How extroverted is actually used
Standard in general speech and writing, though some psychologists prefer "extraverted," following Carl Jung's original coinage from Latin extra- ("outside"). The two spellings are interchangeable in meaning; neither is considered wrong. The word carries a broadly positive connotation of warmth and sociability, but it describes temperament, not social skill — extroverted people are not automatically confident or well-mannered.
Easily confused with extroverted
"Extraverted" is the original spelling (from Latin extra-, "outside") still preferred in Jungian psychology, while "extroverted" is the common everyday variant — they mean the same thing.