(ˈ)ek|strinz]ik, ikˈs-, -n(t)s], ]ēk\ adjective
Etymology: French & Late Latin; French extrinsèque, from Late Latin extrinsecus, from Latin, adverb, from without, on the outside, from (assumed) Latin extrim (from Latin exter, exterus outward, on the outside) + Latin -secus (from sequi to follow) — more at exterior , sue
1.
a. : lying outside : not forming part of or belonging properly to : not contained in or occurring in : extraneous
extrinsic to native capacities
b.
(1) : arising outside : originating or operating from or on the outside
looking for extrinsic aid
disdaining extrinsic pressure groups
specifically : originating outside a part and acting upon the part as a whole
the extrinsic muscles of the tongue
(2) : derived from an external source : not inherent : not essential : accessory , adventitious
extrinsic evidence
: accidental , contingent
2. : of or relating to the outside of : outer , outward , external
an extrinsic feature of the new building
Synonyms:
extraneous , foreign , alien : extrinsic applies to what is definitely not contained in something else, especially not contained in or derived from its essential nature
that style is something extrinsic to the subject, a kind of ornamentation laid on to tickle the taste — A.T.Quiller-Couch
the special quality of such presuppositions is that they are inherent and not extrinsic — Walter Moberly
extraneous applies to what is exterior or unrelated but may be interjected with or interpreted as part of an intrinsic essence
simony was no extraneous stain to be washed off from the body ecclesiastic, but rather an element of its actual constitution — H.O.Taylor
it is simply a close rendering of the Latin text, and it contains little, if any, extraneous matter of the kind which in other works illustrates the character of Alfred's thought — F.M.Stenton
no extraneous beauty or vigor was ingrafted on the decaying stock — T.B.Macaulay
foreign applies to what is exterior, notably different, or unlikely to be assimilated with or to become part of
the mysticism so foreign to the French mind and temper — W.C.Brownell
executive inaction in such a situation, courting national disaster, is foreign to the concept of energy and initiative in the executive as created by the founding fathers — Current History
alien may be stronger than foreign in suggesting opposition, incompatibility, repugnance, or irreconcilability
an emotional quality totally alien to the austerity of the rest of the sermon
though such frankness would, in the past, have been wholly alien to her nature, she now began to tell him of her experience — Francis King