exceptionalism
noun
ex·cep·tion·al·ism
ik-ˈsep-sh(ə-)nə-ˌli-zəm 
: the condition of being different from the norm
also
: a theory expounding the exceptionalism especially of a nation or region
Examples of exceptionalism in a Sentence
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Tech leaders’ business success and wealth, inflated by years of near-zero interest rates, fed an impenetrable faith in their own exceptionalism.
—
Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Such a logic denies the interrelation of different social and political formations while upholding their singularity and exceptionalism.
—Gayatri Gopinath, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2025
The irony being, of course, that everyone around Kushal is equally convinced of his or her own exceptionalism.
—Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
The myth of American exceptionalism—already bruised by years of chaos—is giving way to the image of a banana republic with F-35s.
—Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
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Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Such a logic denies the interrelation of different social and political formations while upholding their singularity and exceptionalism.
—Gayatri Gopinath, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2025
The irony being, of course, that everyone around Kushal is equally convinced of his or her own exceptionalism.
—Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
The myth of American exceptionalism—already bruised by years of chaos—is giving way to the image of a banana republic with F-35s.
—Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exceptionalism
Cite this Entry
“Exceptionalism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exceptionalism. Accessed 22 Dec. 2025.
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