1. to express or show outwardly (thoughts, feelings, or internal processes)
Usage: British spelling; American spelling is ‘externalize’
2. to attribute (one’s own thoughts or feelings) to external causes or other people
Usage: psychology
3. to transfer (a function or process) from within an organization to an external provider
Usage: business

Examples

• She found it difficult to externalise her emotions after the loss.
• The therapy helped him externalise his anxiety rather than keeping it bottled up.
• He tends to externalise blame when things go wrong at work.
• The patient learned to externalise her negative thoughts onto paper through journaling.
• The company decided to externalise its IT support to reduce costs.
• Rather than externalise the problem, she took responsibility for her mistakes.
• The artist’s paintings externalise his inner turmoil beautifully.