Meaning of external

ex•ter•nal

1. of or pertaining to the outside or outer part; outer: an external surface.
2. to be applied to the outside of a body, as a remedy: for external use only.
3. situated or being outside something; acting or coming from without: external influences.
4. pertaining to the outward or visible appearance or show: external acts of worship.
5. pertaining to or concerned with foreign countries: external affairs; external commerce.
6. on the side farthest from the body, the median line, or the center of a radially symmetrical form.
7. of or pertaining to the world of things, considered as independent of the perceiving mind: external world.

1. the outside; outer surface; exterior.
2. something that is external.
3. external features, circumstances, etc.; outward appearance; superficialities.