Adjacent Words

exceptional definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree; "a night of exceeding darkness"; "an exceptional memory"; "olympian efforts to save the city from bankruptcy"; "the young Mozart's prodigious talents" [syn: exceeding, exceptional, olympian, prodigious, surpassing]
2: surpassing what is common or usual or expected; "he paid especial attention to her"; "exceptional kindness"; "a matter of particular and unusual importance"; "a special occasion"; "a special reason to confide in her"; "what's so special about the year 2000?" [syn: especial, exceptional, particular, special]
3: deviating widely from a norm of physical or mental ability; used especially of children below normal in intelligence; "special educational provisions for exceptional children"

Merriam Webster's

adjective Date: 1787 1. forming an exception ; rare <an exceptional number of rainy days> 2. better than average ; superior <exceptional skill> 3. deviating from the norm: as a. having above or below average intelligence b. physically disabled • exceptionality noun • exceptionalness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 forming an exception. 2 unusual; not typical (exceptional circumstances). 3 unusually good; outstanding. Derivatives: exceptionality n. exceptionally adv.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Exceptional Ex*cep"tion*al, a. [Cf. F. exceptionnel.] Forming an exception; not ordinary; uncommon; rare; hence, better than the average; superior. --Lyell. This particular spot had exceptional advantages. --Jowett (Th. ) -- Ex*cep"tion*al*ly, adv.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. You use exceptional to describe someone or something that has a particular quality, usually a good quality, to an unusually high degree. ...children with exceptional ability... His translation is exceptional in its poetic quality. = extraordinary ADJ [approval] • exceptionally He's an exceptionally talented dancer... = extremely ADV: ADV adj/adv 2. Exceptional situations and incidents are unusual and only likely to happen very infrequently. (FORMAL) School governors have the discretion to allow parents to withdraw pupils in exceptional circumstances. = unusual ADJ • exceptionally Exceptionally, in times of emergency, we may send a team of experts... ADV: ADV with cl

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Irregular, unusual, rare, uncommon, unnatural, peculiar, anomalous, abnormal, aberrant, exceptive.

Moby Thesaurus

aberrant, abnormal, absolute, anomalous, appalling, astonishing, beguiling, bewildering, celebrated, certain, concrete, conspicuous, crank, crankish, cranky, crotchety, deficient, defined, definite, detailed, determinate, deviant, deviative, different, distinct, distinguished, divergent, dotty, eccentric, egregious, eminent, enigmatic, erratic, esoteric, especial, esteemed, estimable, ethnocentric, excellent, excluding, exclusive, exclusory, express, extraordinary, fabulous, fantastic, fascinating, fey, fixed, flaky, formidable, freakish, funny, gifted, good, handicapped, idiocratic, idiosyncratic, inadmissible, incomprehensible, inconceivable, incredible, indescribable, individual, ineffable, infrequent, inner, insular, intimate, irregular, kinky, kooky, legendary, maggoty, marked, marvelous, memorable, minute, miraculous, mythical, narrow, noble, notable, noteworthy, noticeable, nutty, odd, oddball, of mark, outlandish, outstanding, parochial, particular, passing strange, peculiar, personal, phenomenal, portentous, precise, preclusive, premium, prescriptive, prestigious, preventive, private, prodigious, prohibitive, prominent, puzzling, queer, quirky, rare, remarkable, rememberable, reputable, respective, restrictive, salient, scarce, screwball, screwy, seclusive, segregative, select, selective, sensational, separative, several, signal, singular, snobbish, solipsistic, special, specific, strange, striking, stupefying, stupendous, superior, talented, telling, twisted, uncommon, unconventional, uncustomary, unexampled, unforgettable, unheard-of, unimaginable, unique, unnatural, unordinary, unparalleled, unprecedented, unspeakable, unthinkable, unusual, unwonted, wacky, whimsical, wonderful, wondrous, xenophobic