exemplary
adjective
G. V. Higgins 
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An Exemplary Etymology
It’s usually not a good thing if someone wants to make an example of you, unless, of course, it’s because you happen to be exemplary. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, someone or something may be deemed exemplary if they, by their example, are worthy of imitation. Like a few other English words beginning with ex—such as exceptional and extraordinary—exemplary describes that which is a cut above the rest. But though exemplary, which comes from the Latin noun exemplum (“example”), describes something “excellent,” it almost always carries the further suggestion that the thing described is an excellent model to follow.
Examples of exemplary in a Sentence
Chris Humphrey, National Geographic Traveler, September 2008
A few Hollywood couples stayed hitched—Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, 50 years and counting—but such exemplary marriages had less entertainment value than the connubial career of, say, Elizabeth Taylor, eight times wed and divorced, including two volatile turns with Richard Burton.
—Richard Corliss, Time, 28 Jan. 2008
Among the most important factors that distinguished the best Civil War regiments from the mediocre ones were the quality and exemplary courage of their officers.
—James M. McPherson, New York Review of Books, 6 Oct. 2005
as a hospital volunteer you have given exemplary service to your community
armies have traditionally used public execution as an exemplary punishment for the crime of desertion
PC Magazine, 30 Aug. 2025
In this sweeping first-pass evaluation, those firms that displayed work generally meeting the Forbes Architecture criteria were invited to submit an exemplary house completed in 2018 or later for further evaluation.
—Richard Olsen, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
From its build to its image quality and software, the monitor is exemplary for a screen of this kind.
—Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2025
The judgment was notably forward-looking and turned out to be exemplary.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exemplary
Cite this Entry
“Exemplary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exemplary. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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exemplary
adjective
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