Link Centre Dictionary

exception

ex·cep·tion

UK/əkˈsɛpʃən/ US/ɪkˈsɛpʃən/ fairly common informal

noun

1.

a deliberate act of omission

  • “with the exception of the children, everyone was told the news”
Synonyms
2.

an instance that does not conform to a rule or generalization

  • “all her children were brilliant; the only exception was her last child”
  • “an exception tests the rule”
3.

grounds for adverse criticism

  • “his authority is beyond exception”

Origin

From Middle English exception, excepcioun, from Anglo-Norman excepcioun, from Old French excepcion, from Latin exceptiō.

Phrases

  • be no exception
  • every rule has an exception
  • exception handler
  • exception that proves the rule
  • first-chance exception
  • make an exception
  • management by exception
  • personal exception

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.