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as in intelligent
having or showing quickness of mind a special school for exceptional children

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of exceptional Malcolm was an exceptional husband, father, and son — a man deeply in love with life, his wife, and his daughter. Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2025 The United States’ average of 1.6 kids is not exceptional. Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025 Advertisement For more than a century, demonizing opponents has been useful for delegitimizing threats and justifying exceptional actions in foreign lands. Time, 8 Aug. 2025 The Latin Music Educator Award is a new distinction, in partnership with the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation, that recognizes one exceptional educator from the global music community who is making a significant impact by incorporating Latin music into their curriculum. Thania Garcia, Variety, 7 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for exceptional
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exceptional
Adjective
  • Shooting for the stars and achieving the extraordinary is nothing new for elite athletes who reach the pinnacle of any sport.
    Andrew Rice, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2025
  • And until the two men fell out this spring, Trump granted Tesla CEO Elon Musk an extraordinary amount of power to dismantle the federal workforce.
    Maria Aspan, NPR, 14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The work requirements don’t apply to beneficiaries who are pregnant, disabled, a child, a senior, a parent of a child younger than 14, or those who are caretakers for others.
    Jeremy Nighohossian, Boston Herald, 3 Aug. 2025
  • Bowen Tower Apartments, located at 6140 Raytown Road, is a 92-unit building that houses mostly elderly and disabled people.
    PJ Green August 1, Kansas City Star, 1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The war in Ukraine is creating high pressure innovation in intelligent drones and swarms.
    Sabbir Rangwala, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
  • These are dynamic, intelligent, very witty women that can use their words in arguments.
    McKinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Just to see John Turturro and Christopher Walken play lovers is so unexpected, so unusual and so well done.
    Lynette Rice, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2025
  • To do this, the snails have developed some unusual tools to alter its genome that could inform future ways for humans to do the same.
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • An impaired sense of smell is more strongly predictive of all-cause mortality than heart disease.
    Tad Friend, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
  • In a stream alongside the old mining property, high levels of zinc and manganese have been detected for years, resulting in the water body, known as Stream C, being placed on the state’s impaired waters list.
    Laura Schulte, jsonline.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Later, of course, movies based on the series starring Tom Cruise became blockbusters, but were never as clever as the original television series, relying more on outlandish stunts and special effects.
    Jim Clash, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025
  • These clever yet bizarre gadgets are both fun and oddly useful.
    Nora Colomer may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom., FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The move, a standing, forward-imploding springboard cutter, is one of the most unique finishers in all of wrestling.
    Andrew Ravens‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Big deal: The thawing IPO market may get one of its biggest — and unique — deals of all time later this year.
    Kevin Stankiewicz,Jeff Marks, CNBC, 8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • That's the only way to honor the spirit of the brilliant, elusive Parker.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Utah's first national park unfolds like a living painting, where massive sandstone cliffs of cream, pink, and red soar into brilliant blue skies.
    Shelby Knick, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Exceptional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exceptional. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

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