Exotic

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Exotic

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

adjective

Pronunciation

ig-ZOT-ik  /ɪɡˈzɒtɪk/

Definition

Originating from or characteristic of a distant foreign country; strikingly unusual or colourful in appearance or character.

Plain meaning

Foreign, unfamiliar, and intriguing — from somewhere distant, or simply unlike anything in ordinary experience.

Register

Neutral in botanical and culinary contexts. Increasingly careful in social contexts where it can imply unfamiliar otherness in ways that reduce people to their foreignness.