esoteric
adjective
B. N. Cardozo
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What is the opposite of esoteric?
The opposite of esoteric is exoteric, which means "suitable to be imparted to the public." According to one account, those who were deemed worthy to attend the Greek philosopher Aristotle's learned discussions were known as his "esoterics," his confidants, while those who merely attended his popular evening lectures were called his "exoterics." Since material that is geared toward a target audience is often not as easily comprehensible to outside observers, esoteric acquired an extended meaning of "difficult to understand." Both esoteric and exoteric started appearing in English in the 17th century; esoteric traces back to ancient Greek by way of the Late Latin esotericus. The Greek esōterikos is based on the comparative form of esō, which means "within."
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Examples of esoteric in a Sentence
Alec Wilkinson, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2002
… he listens to a group of Malaysians playing reedy, plangent music on some esoteric kind of wind instrument.
—Penelope Lively, City of the Mind, 1991
There was a new mall, an excellent bookstore with esoteric literary and policy journals, some restaurants with cosmopolitan menus, and engaging real estate advertisements.
—Robert D. Kaplan, An Empire Wilderness, 1988
metaphysics is such an esoteric subject that most people are content to leave it to the philosophers
must have had some esoteric motive for leaving his art collection to a museum halfway around the globe
Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 4 Nov. 2024
The automobile’s pontoon fenders and single rumble seat are esoteric enhancements, while the lack of door handles only further refines the extremely clean lines.
—Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 4 Nov. 2024
The process of acquiring the game is just as esoteric, too.
—Ashley Bardhan, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
One of London’s most iconic esoteric shops, Watkins, has an entire section dedicated to cards, while Treadwell’s, another destination store for the occult, makes a trade out of unusual or collectable second-hand decks.
—Nina-Sophia Miralles, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Esoteric.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/esoteric. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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esoteric
adjective
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