Standard Lemma guide

outness

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The quality of being out, or outside.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The collective of things that are distinct from the observer.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The property of being distinct.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: otherness, externality, outwardness

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The extent to which someone, particularly a gay person, is open about their sexuality.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

* out + -ness. ** (philosophy): Possibly coined by George Berkeley for his 1709 Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision ** (sexuality): Popularised by Lynne Pearlman in her 1989 thesis Theorizing Lesbian Oppression and the Politics of Outness in the Case of Waterman v. National Life Assurance.