Standard Lemma guide

unexceptional

adj · 2 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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  • /ˌʌnɪkˈsɛpʃənəl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not exceptional.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: lackluster, pedestrian, mundane, plain, average, comme ci comme ça, crappy, decent, indifferent, meh, mediocre, mid, middling, no great shakes, nothing to write home about, not worth writing home about, OK, okayish, ordinary, unexceptional, uninspiring, shitty, so-so, tolerable, whatever, medial, basic, bog-standard, common, commonplace, common-and-garden, common-or-garden, congruent, consistent, conventional, customary, everyday, expected, garden variety, improminent, natural, normal, par for the course, par, plain vanilla, quotidian, regular, routine, run-of-the-mill, standard, standard issue, typical, unremarkable, unstrange, usual, vulgar, wakeaday, workaday

Antonyms: exceptional

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

not special in any way

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • run-of-the-mill boxing
  • your run-of-the-mine college graduate
  • a unexceptional an incident as can be found in a lawyer's career

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: run-of-the-mill, run-of-the-mine, mine run

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- 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 English -al English exceptional English unexceptional From un- + exceptional.