exceptionable

American  

[ik-sep-shuh-nuh-buhl] / ɪkˈsɛp ʃə nə bəl /

adjective

1. liable to exception or objection; objectionable.

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exceptionable British  

/ ɪkˈsɛpʃənəbəl /

adjective

1. open to or subject to objection; objectionable

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Other Word Forms

• exceptionableness noun
• exceptionably adverb

Etymology

Origin of exceptionable

First recorded in 1655–65; exception + -able

Explanation

If something is exceptionable, someone is bound to find something wrong with it. Be careful not to confuse exceptionable with exceptional, which means something remarkable and particularly unusual, or with unexceptionable, which means the exact opposite of exceptionable — something quite ordinary and hardly to be noticed. "Puppies are cute" is about as unexceptionable a sentence as you are likely to find. Unless you're a puppy hater, of course.

Example Sentences

Brooks will be available in relief and has shown exceptionable athleticism.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 25, 2023

There should be room in today’s vast television landscape for a series that points out the exceptionable.

From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2012

There was little in the Iraq speech that was exceptional with respect to language or policy, and not much that was exceptionable either.

From Salon • Sep. 1, 2010

The book is exceptionable because the reader is led to think that Karmel's handmade wormholes are real.

From Time Magazine Archive

However exceptionable in point of morals, this play possesses much comic vivacity and interest of character.

From History of Roman Literature from its Earliest Period to the Augustan Age. Volume I by Dunlop, John