Externalising

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Revealing or showing internal feelings or ideas to the outside world
2. Making inner emotions or thoughts visible or apparent through actions or speech
3. Projecting internal mental or emotional states outwardly to be perceived by others

Etymology: "External" comes from Latin "externus," meaning "outward" or "on the outside," which grew from "exter," "outside." The verb is that adjective plus "-ise," a suffix that reached English through French from Greek "-izein." It turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to make" or "to treat in a certain way." To externalise is therefore to make something inward turn outward. The sense of revealing inner feelings extends that physical picture. A feeling is imagined as something kept inside a person, and externalising it means bringing it out where others can see it. In psychology, the related form "externalizing" describes outward-directed behaviour, set against "internalizing" difficulties such as anxiety or withdrawal.

Synonyms: expressing, manifesting, outwarding

Antonyms: internalizing, concealing