exceptional
Americanadjective
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forming an exception or rare instance; unusual; extraordinary.
The warm weather was exceptional for January.
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unusually excellent; superior.
an exceptional violinist.
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Education. (of a child)
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being intellectually gifted.
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being physically or especially mentally disabled to an extent that special schooling is required.
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adjective
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forming an exception; not ordinary
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having much more than average intelligence, ability, or skill
Related Words
See irregular.
Other Word Forms
- exceptionality noun
- exceptionally adverb
- exceptionalness noun
- nonexceptional adjective
- preexceptional adjective
- quasi-exceptional adjective
- superexceptional adjective
Etymology
Origin of exceptional
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The impact of the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz has already led governments to take exceptional measures, like the Philippines which has declared a national energy emergency, Maynier noted.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
With improved precision, phonon lasers could become powerful tools for measuring gravity and other forces with exceptional accuracy.
From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026
This tule fog upended that trend, thanks to the exceptional fall weather conditions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
For something close to $5 million — one one-hundredth of the projected cost of gondola construction — McCourt likely could do an exceptional job.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026
I wondered this, at that particular moment, because something beyond anything I have ever understood drove Mable Jones to an exceptional life.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
