alterity means otherness; the entity in contrast to which an identity is constructed. It carries an Arena rating of 1478, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, alterity ranks #896 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #1,182 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,367 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #3,900 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
Why “alterity” is a great word
The state or quality of being other or different; the philosophical concept of otherness against which identity is defined. From the Middle French alterité, from the Latin alteritās, alteritāt- ("otherness"), from alter ("other"), first recorded in English 1425–75. Unlike "identity," which names the self-recognized qualities of a person or group, or "similarity," which stresses likeness and shared traits, alterity is the irreducible fact of the not-self. It is the stranger's face glimpsed through a train window at night, the scent of unfamiliar spices drifting from a half-open door, or the sudden silence between two people who thought they understood each other—the profound and irreducible presence of the world as not-you, a shadow identity casts when it turns toward the light.
noun
- Otherness; the entity in contrast to which an identity is constructed.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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