Phrase guide

exclusive or

noun · 3 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

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Exclusive disjunction: the use of or to indicate that of two predicates, one is true and one is false (without specifying which is which); contrasted with inclusive or, which does not imply that one must be false.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, engineering, human-sciences, logic, mathematics, natural-sciences, philosophy, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Exclusive disjunction: the use of or to indicate that of two or more predicates, an odd number are true (without specifying which or how many); contrasted with inclusive or, which indicates only that one or more is true.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

Topics: computing, engineering, human-sciences, logic, mathematics, natural-sciences, philosophy, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An exclusive disjunction; the result of applying the above-described exclusive or to two or more predicates; contrasted with an inclusive or, which is the result of applying an inclusive or.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, engineering, human-sciences, logic, mathematics, natural-sciences, philosophy, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

exclusive + or.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: eksklusiivinen tai — exclusive disjunction
  • Finnish: poissulkeva tai — exclusive disjunction
  • French: ou exclusif — exclusive disjunction
  • German: exklusives Oder — exclusive disjunction
  • Hungarian: kizáró vagy — exclusive disjunction
  • Japanese: 排他的論理和 (haitateki ronriwa) — exclusive disjunction
  • Polish: alternatywa rozłączna — exclusive disjunction
  • Polish: ekskluzja — exclusive disjunction
  • Russian: исключа́ющее «ИЛИ» — exclusive disjunction
  • Spanish: o exclusivo — exclusive disjunction
  • Swedish: exklusivt eller — exclusive disjunction