exclusive

adjective

ex·clu·sive | \ ik-ˈsklü-siv

, -ziv\

Definition of exclusive

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : excluding or having power to exclude

b : limiting or limited to possession, control, or use by a single individual or group

2a : excluding others from participation

b : snobbishly aloof

3a : accepting or soliciting only a socially restricted patronage (as of the upper class)

b : stylish, fashionable

c : restricted in distribution, use, or appeal because of expense

4a : single, sole exclusive jurisdiction

b : whole, undivided his exclusive attention

exclusive

noun

Definition of exclusive (Entry 2 of 2)

: something exclusive: such as

a : a news story at first released to or reported by only one source

b : an exclusive right (as to sell a particular product in a certain area)

Other Words from exclusive Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about exclusive

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Synonyms & Antonyms for exclusive

Synonyms: Adjective

single, sole, unshared

Antonyms: Adjective

nonexclusive

Did You Know?

In words such as expel, export, and exclusive, the prefix ex- means "out of, outside". Thus, to exclude means basically to close the door in order to keep someone or something out. When the word appears in an advertisement, it's often making an appeal to snobs. An "exclusive" offer is supposedly made to only a few people; not so many years ago, "exclusive" housing developments excluded those of a certain race or color. If a product is being sold exclusively by one store, you won't be able to find it anywhere else. When a newspaper or news show has an exclusive, it's a story that no one else has yet reported. Exclusive's antonym is inclusive; an inclusive policy, an inclusive church, or an inclusive approach is one that aims to include as many people as possible.

Examples of exclusive in a Sentence

Adjective

He belongs to an exclusive club. She attended an exclusive private school. one of the city's most exclusive restaurants They gave their exclusive attention to the job.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Both are hotly anticipated PC games, both scheduled to release this summer, and now both are exclusive to Epic—at least at release. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "Obsidian's Outer Worlds and Remedy's Control lead a new wave of Epic Games Store exclusives," 20 Mar. 2019 Earlier this week, five of Meghan Markle's closest friends gave an exclusive interview to People magazine. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Palace Reportedly Didn't Know Meghan Markle's Friends Were Talking to the Press," 9 Feb. 2019 Instead, according to The Daily Beast, the paper took her accusations to Cosby, then agreed to kill her story in exchange for a front-page exclusive interview with him. — Liz Cantrell, Town & Country, "Before Jeff Bezos, The National Enquirer Had a Long History of Scandals," 8 Feb. 2019 As a special treat for guests who stay in one of Ocean House’s 18 Signature Suites or seven cottages are invited to enjoy dining in the exclusive club room, with its own fireplace, bar, dining area and deck. — Hannah Seligson, Town & Country, "The Best Room At," 8 Mar. 2019 Starting this summer, West Elm will offer RTR subscribers 26 exclusive home bundles for the bedroom and living room, including decorative pillows, quilts, coverlets, shams, and more. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "Rent the Runway and West Elm Partner to Create Gorgeous, Rentable Home Essentials," 7 Mar. 2019 Revolve Revolve may be known for its exclusive influencer pool parties, but the e-commerce site also has an extensive selection of dresses for the big day. — Allure, "22 Places to Shop Affordable Bridesmaid Dresses That Look Chic, Not Cheap," 7 Mar. 2019 Qualcomm’s exclusive collaboration with Samsung on the 835 and 845 forced the G7 to arrive months late, and the G6 to use an older chip. — Michael Simon, PCWorld, "LG G8 hands-on: Could the future of smartphones be in the palm of my hand?," 24 Feb. 2019 And Glamour got some exclusive insight into how this epic dress came together. — Ana Colón, Glamour, "Golden Globes 2019: Everything to Know About Chrissy Metz's Custom Tanya Taylor Gown," 6 Jan. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Dell’s Mobile Connect software, once exclusive to Dell PCs and now available to all Windows PCs and Android phones, has already performed screen mirroring for about 15 months. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Android phone mirroring arrives in new Windows 10 preview build 18356," 13 Mar. 2019 For the new issue of Hunger, Yara covers the magazine in a Chanel exclusive look styled by Jason Bolden and photographed by Jamie Nelson. — Alyssa Hardy, Teen Vogue, "Yara Shahidi Wears Chanel on the Cover of "Hunger"," 13 Mar. 2019 Luckily, eventually the show was recommissioned, and the resulting 10-episode third season is a Netflix exclusive. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "Get your binge on: Season 3 of sci-fi gem Travelers is out now," 14 Dec. 2018 Worse, this Verizon exclusive won’t work as a stand-alone phone. — Matthew Kitchen, WSJ, "The Beyond-Basic Phone that Made an Exec’s Life Better," 22 Feb. 2019 In a photo exclusive to PEOPLE, the girls can be seen proudly showing off their school reports to Jolie. — Mike Miller, PEOPLE.com, "How Angelina Jolie Spent Father's Day Amid Custody Drama with Brad Pitt," 18 June 2018 Its subject: how a talented Washington Post reporter pursued front-page exclusives during the Cold War. — Marvin Kalb, WSJ, "Five Best: Marvin Kalb on Memoirs of War Reporting," 11 Jan. 2019 Kiwami The Yakuza games, long a PlayStation exclusive, started trickling onto PC this past summer with the release of Yakuza 0. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: Obsidian teases a game reveal, the FTC pledges to look into loot boxes," 30 Nov. 2018 Sponsored video Watch our exclusive sponsored video for great gift ideas this Holiday season! — Discover Magazine, "Holiday Gift Guide," 24 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'exclusive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.