1
as in extraordinary
being out of the ordinary
an exceptional amount of snow fell in March
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disabled
deprived of the power to perform one or more natural bodily activities
her experience working with exceptional children was rewarding and inspiring
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in intelligent
having or showing quickness of mind
a special school for exceptional children
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of exceptional
The Dodgers moved longtime coach and scout Monty Basgall — known as an exceptional infield instructor — from the front office to the field to help the players adjust to their new roles.
—
Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Leaders must create cultures where experimentation is normal, rather than exceptional.
—Francesca Cassidy, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2026
Read More TopicsVogue WeddingsWedding Inspiration Vogue Weddings An all-access invitation to the exceptional and inspirational, plus planning tips and advice.
—Shelby Wax, Vogue, 6 Apr. 2026
Cornerbacks Tennessee’s Colton Hood, San Diego State’s Chris Johnson (mocked to Miami by Reid), Ohio State’s Davison Igbinosun, UM’s Keionte Scott, Arkansas’ Julian Neal, Indiana’s D’Angelo Ponds (his 5-9 height is only negative for an exceptional playmaker), Arizona State’s Keith Adney II.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for exceptional
Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Leaders must create cultures where experimentation is normal, rather than exceptional.
—Francesca Cassidy, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2026
Read More TopicsVogue WeddingsWedding Inspiration Vogue Weddings An all-access invitation to the exceptional and inspirational, plus planning tips and advice.
—Shelby Wax, Vogue, 6 Apr. 2026
Cornerbacks Tennessee’s Colton Hood, San Diego State’s Chris Johnson (mocked to Miami by Reid), Ohio State’s Davison Igbinosun, UM’s Keionte Scott, Arkansas’ Julian Neal, Indiana’s D’Angelo Ponds (his 5-9 height is only negative for an exceptional playmaker), Arizona State’s Keith Adney II.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for exceptional
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exceptional
Adjective
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The extraordinary review of a media outlet’s coverage, revealed in emails obtained by The Star, is unheard of in Kansas City politics, according to one former mayor.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
7 Apr. 2026
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My father had lived an extraordinary life as a young Black man born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, during the 1940s.—
Shayla Martin,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Shaw said the East Bay Paratransit program, which is responsible for assisting disabled residents within three-quarters of a mile from transit routes, receives 69% of its operational budget from AC Transit and 31% from BART.—
Chase Hunter,
Mercury News,
8 Apr. 2026
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Medicaid is the joint state and federal program that covers low-income and disabled adults.—
Katheryn Houghton,
NPR,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Xuechun Wang, a post-doctoral researcher at QMUL, specializes in applying machine learning algorithms to building intelligent sensors.—
Maureen Mackey , Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
11 Apr. 2026
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Rats are also highly intelligent.—
Scott Simon,
NPR,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Wen says that such unusual shapes could be useful in making a lab-on-a-chip for cell biology or drug development.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
9 Apr. 2026
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At 516 feet in width, the unusual structure is roughly 22,000 times smaller than the actual Moon, which with a diameter of 2,159 miles could roughly fit the contiguous United States across one of its halves from east to west.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The internet is full of accounts of the difficulties of captchas for the visually impaired, so ChatGPT’s training data is full of them, too.—
Amanda Gefter,
Quanta Magazine,
10 Apr. 2026
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Cellphone use can distract students and lead to disengagement from school, impaired learning and poorer mental health.—
Brian Jacob,
The Conversation,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Outside of being a clever marketing tactic, the controversy over the movie was also the natural result of a pre-internet time when Faces of Death was more talked about than actually seen.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
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The clever tuning of the suspension and the steering wheel -- that's what our engineers are incredibly skilled at.—
Morgan Korn,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The Rewind is completely different from the Rock Slide and Willys 392 -- each one of them has its own unique personality.—
Morgan Korn,
ABC News,
12 Apr. 2026
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This pattern isn’t unique to bats, the authors suggested, and likely applies to biodiversity loss and its impacts on agriculture broadly.—
Leah Campbell,
Hartford Courant,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Glory has remained a classic for nearly 40 years through its precise, rather brilliant combination of history lesson and Hollywood blockbuster.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Apr. 2026
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The protagonists in both books are brilliant in very specific ways (Bernadette is a designer), a brilliance focused in a passion that is conveyed through the novel.—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Exceptional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exceptional. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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