ulterior

English

Alternative forms

• ulteriour (obsolete)

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin ulterior, from ulter (“that is beyond”) + -ior (“(compartive)”).

Adjective

ulterior (not comparable)

1. Situated beyond, or on the farther side.
2. Beyond what is obvious or evident.
3. Being intentionally concealed so as to deceive.
   • 1956–1960, R.S. Peters, The Concept of Motivation, Routledge & Kegan Paul (second edition, 1960), chapter ii: “Motives and Motivation”, page 32:

     Motives, of course, may be mixed; but this only means that a man aims at a variety of goals by means of the same course of action. Similarly a man may have a strong motive or a weak one, an ulterior motive or an ostensible one.

4. (archaic) Happening later; subsequent.

   an ulterior action

   • 1840, in The Chemist, volume 1, page 141:

     A rather deep red coloration, which appears by the action of the first bubbles of chlorine, but which soon disappears by the ulterior action of this gas […]

Usage notes

Ulterior is primarily used today to mean impure, covert, external motives, and generally not opposed to etymological antonyms. In the comparative sense “beyond, farther”, the Latin antonym is propior (“nearer”), which is not used in English (compare proximate/ultimate for “nearest/farthest (cause etc.)”). In the sense “after, subsequent”, it can be opposed to prior, but the sense “after” is now archaic (compare primate/ultimate for “first/last”).

Derived terms

• ulterior motive

Antonyms

• (intentionally concealed, to deceive): Template:l/en

Related terms

• ultimate
• ultra
• ultra-

External links

• “ulterior”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “ulterior”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “ulterior”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

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Latin

Adjective

ulterior (comparative of ulter)

1. further away

Antonyms

• propior

Descendants

• English: ulterior
• Spanish: ulterior

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Spanish

Adjective

ulterior m or f (masculine and feminine plural ulteriores)

1. ulterior
2. later; subsequent

Related terms

• ulteriormente