noun · verb · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/əkˈsɛpʃən/
/ɪkˈsɛpʃən/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
homophone: acception (for pronunciations with schwa)
CMU ARPABET:IH0 K S EH1 P SH AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The act of excepting or excluding; exclusion; restriction by taking out something which would otherwise be included, as in a class, statement, rule.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
the exception of a rule
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
That which is excluded from others; a person, thing, or case, specified as distinct, or not included.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
That rule is usually true, but there are a few exceptions.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: outlier
Antonyms: commonness, generality
3
noun
Meaning 3
An objection, on legal grounds; also, as in conveyancing, a clause by which the grantor excepts or reserves something before the right is transferred.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: law
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
An objection; cavil; dissent; disapprobation; offense; cause of offense.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Qualifier: usually followed by to or against
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
An interruption in normal processing, typically caused by an error condition, that can be raised ("thrown") by one part of the program and handled ("caught") by another part.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
a deliberate act of omission
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
with the exception of the children, everyone was told the news
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: exclusion, elision
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: omission
8
noun
Meaning 8
an instance that does not conform to a rule or generalization
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
all her children were brilliant; the only exception was her last child
an exception tests the rule
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: example, illustration, instance, representative
9
noun
Meaning 9
grounds for adverse criticism
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
his authority is beyond exception
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: objection
Narrower terms: caption
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h1éǵh Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h1éǵhs Proto-Italic *eks Latin ex Latin ex- substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti Proto-Italic *kapjō Old Latin kapiō Latin capiō Latin excipiō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin exceptiōder. Old French excepcion Anglo-Norman excepciounbor. Middle English exception English exception From Middle English exception, excepcioun, from Anglo-Norman excepcioun, from Old French excepcion, from Latin exceptiō. Equivalent to except + -ion.
Across languages
Translations
161 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
اِسْتِثْنَاء
(istiṯnāʔ)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Belarusian:
выключэ́нне
(vyključénnje)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Bulgarian:
изключе́ние
(izključénie)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Bulgarian:
изклю́чване
(izkljúčvane)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Catalan:
excepció
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Chinese Mandarin:
排除
(páichú)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Czech:
výjimka
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Danish:
undtagelse
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Dutch:
uitzondering
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Esperanto:
esceptado
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Estonian:
erand
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Faroese:
undantak
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Finnish:
poikkeus
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
German:
Ausnahme
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Greek:
εξαίρεση
(exaíresi)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Hindi:
अपवाद
(apvād)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Indonesian:
pengecualian
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Irish:
eisceacht
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Italian:
eccezione
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Japanese:
除外
(jogai)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Korean:
제외
(je'oe)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Korean:
례외
(rye'oe)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Malay:
pengecualian
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Māori:
hāungatanga
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Norwegian Bokmål:
aberrasjon
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Portuguese:
exceção
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Russian:
исключе́ние
(isključénije)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Russian:
изъя́тие
(izʺjátije)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Scottish Gaelic:
fàgail a-mach
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Serbo-Croatian:
iznimka
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Serbo-Croatian:
izuzetak
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Serbo-Croatian:
izuzeće
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Slovak:
výnimka
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Spanish:
excepción
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Spanish:
salvedad
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Swedish:
undantag
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Turkish:
istisna
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Ukrainian:
ви́ключення
(výključennja)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Ukrainian:
ви́лучення
(výlučennja)
— act of excepting or excluding; exclusion
Albanian:
përjashtim
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Arabic:
اِسْتِثْنَاء
(istiṯnāʔ)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Armenian:
բացառություն
(bacʻaṙutʻyun)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Asturian:
esceición
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Azerbaijani:
istisna
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Belarusian:
вы́нятак
(výnjatak)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Bulgarian:
изключе́ние
(izključénie)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Catalan:
excepció
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Chinese Mandarin:
例外
(lìwài)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Czech:
výjimka
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Danish:
undtagelse
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Dutch:
uitzondering
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Esperanto:
escepto
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Estonian:
erand
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Finnish:
poikkeus
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
French:
exception
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Galician:
excepción
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Georgian:
გამონაკლისი
(gamonaḳlisi)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
German:
Ausnahme
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Greek:
εξαίρεση
(exaíresi)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Hebrew:
יוֹצֵא דֹּפֶן
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Hebrew:
יוצא דופן
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Hebrew:
חָרִיג
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Hindi:
अपवाद
(apvād)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Hungarian:
kivétel
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Icelandic:
undantekning
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Indonesian:
pengecualian
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Ingrian:
iskljucenija
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Irish:
eisceacht
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Italian:
eccezione
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Japanese:
例外
(reigai)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Japanese:
殊
(koto)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Kazakh:
ерекшелік
(erekşelık)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Korean:
예외
(ye'oe)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Korean:
례외
(rye'oe)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Kyrgyz:
бөтөнчө
(bötöncö)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Kyrgyz:
өзгөчө
(özgöcö)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Latin:
exceptiō
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Latvian:
izņēmums
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Lithuanian:
išimtis
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Macedonian:
исклучок
(isklučok)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Malay:
pengecualian
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Māori:
hāungatanga
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Māori:
rerenga
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Norwegian Bokmål:
unntak
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Norwegian Bokmål:
aberrasjon
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Pashto:
استثنا
(estesnã)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Iranian Persian:
اِسْتِثْنا
(estesnâ)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Polish:
wyjątek
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Portuguese:
exceção
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Romanian:
excepție
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Russian:
исключе́ние
(isključénije)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Scottish Gaelic:
fàgail a-mach
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Serbo-Croatian:
изузе́так
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Serbo-Croatian:
izuzétak
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Serbo-Croatian:
iznimka
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Slovak:
výnimka
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Slovene:
izjema
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Spanish:
excepción
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Spanish:
salvedad
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Swedish:
undantag
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Tajik:
истисно
(istisno)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Thai:
ข้อยกเว้น
(kɔ̂ɔ-yók-wén)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Thai:
การยกเว้น
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Turkish:
istisna
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Ukrainian:
ви́няток
(výnjatok)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Ukrainian:
ви́йняток
(výjnjatok)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Urdu:
اِسْتِثْنا
(istisnā)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Urdu:
اِسْتِثْنیٰ
(istisnā)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Uyghur:
ئىستىسنا
(istisna)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Uzbek:
istisno
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Vietnamese:
lệ ngoại
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Vietnamese:
ngoại lệ
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Welsh:
eithriad
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Zazaki:
istisna
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Zazaki:
ciya (diq)
— that which is excepted or taken out from others
Bulgarian:
отво́д
(otvód)
— (law) an objection
Catalan:
excepció
— (law) an objection
Finnish:
ehto
— (law) an objection
Hungarian:
kifogás
— (law) an objection
Hungarian:
ellenvetés
— (law) an objection
Indonesian:
pengecualian
— (law) an objection
Irish:
eisceacht
— (law) an objection
Latin:
exceptio
— (law) an objection
Malay:
pengecualian
— (law) an objection
Russian:
отво́д
(otvód)
— (law) an objection
Welsh:
gwrthwynebiad
— (law) an objection
Bulgarian:
възраже́ние
(vǎzražénie)
— an objection; cavil; dissent; disapprobation; offense; cause of offense
Finnish:
kritiikki
— an objection; cavil; dissent; disapprobation; offense; cause of offense
Finnish:
vastustus
— an objection; cavil; dissent; disapprobation; offense; cause of offense
Hungarian:
ellenvetés
— an objection; cavil; dissent; disapprobation; offense; cause of offense
Hungarian:
tiltakozás
— an objection; cavil; dissent; disapprobation; offense; cause of offense
Hungarian:
megütközés
— an objection; cavil; dissent; disapprobation; offense; cause of offense
Indonesian:
pengecualian
— an objection; cavil; dissent; disapprobation; offense; cause of offense
Russian:
возраже́ние
(vozražénije)
— an objection; cavil; dissent; disapprobation; offense; cause of offense
Spanish:
ofensa
— an objection; cavil; dissent; disapprobation; offense; cause of offense
Arabic:
اِسْتِثْنَاء
(istiṯnāʔ)
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Arabic:
خَطَأ
(ḵaṭaʔ)
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Belarusian:
памы́лка
(pamýlka)
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Bulgarian:
гре́шка
(gréška)
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Chinese Mandarin:
異常 /异常
(yìcháng)
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Czech:
výjimka
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Finnish:
poikkeus
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
French:
exception
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
German:
Ausnahme
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
German:
Ausnahmebedingung
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
German:
Exception
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Greek:
εξαίρεση
(exaíresi)
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Hungarian:
megszakítás
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Hungarian:
kivétel
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Indonesian:
pengecualian
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Irish:
eisceacht
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Japanese:
例外
(reigai)
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Korean:
예외
(ye'oe)
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Korean:
례외
(rye'oe)
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Polish:
wyjątek
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Portuguese:
exceção
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Portuguese:
exception
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Russian:
оши́бка
(ošíbka)
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Turkish:
olağandışı durum
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Ukrainian:
поми́лка
(pomýlka)
— computing: an interruption in normal processing
Zazaki:
weziyeto ecayıb
— computing: an interruption in normal processing