- the act of excepting or fact of being excepted; omission
- anything excluded from or not in conformance with a general rule, principle, class, etc
- criticism, esp when it is adverse; objection
- (formerly) a formal objection in the course of legal proceedings
- a clause or term in a document that restricts the usual legal effect of the document
- take exception ⇒
- (usually followed by to) to make objections (to); demur (at)
- (often followed by at) to be offended (by); be resentful (at)
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ex•cep•tion /ɪkˈsɛpʃən/USA pronunciation
n.
See -cep-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- the act of excepting or the fact of being excepted:[uncountable]Fill in every line in this form without exception.
- something excepted:[countable]I'll make an exception in your case.
- Idioms take exception to, [~ + object]
- to make an objection to:She took exception to one point in the contract.
- to take offense:I took exception to those rude comments.
See -cep-.
ex•cep•tion
(ik sep′shən),USA pronunciation n.
ex•cep′tion•less, adj.
- the act of excepting or the fact of being excepted.
- something excepted;
an instance or case not conforming to the general rule. - an adverse criticism, esp. on a particular point;
opposition of opinion;
objection;
demurral:a statement liable to exception. - Law
- Lawan objection, as to a ruling of the court in the course of a trial.
- Lawa notation that an objection is preserved for purposes of appeal:saving an exception.
- Idioms take exception:
- to make an objection;
demur:They took exception to several points in the contract. - to take offense:She took exception to what I said about her brother.
- to make an objection;
- Latin exceptiōn (stem of exceptiō), equivalent. to except(us) (see except1) + -iōn- -ion
- Middle English excepcioun 1350–1400
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
exception /ɪkˈsɛpʃən/ n
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'exception' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
always
- bar
- entire
- entirely
- every
- every one
- except
- exceptional
- extremely
- invariably
- jack
- man
- one
- only
- overtone
- really
- rule
- save
- saving
- stretch
- universally
- unquestionable
- very
- wholly
- absolutely
- adverb
- anomaly
- anytime
- bating
- but
- cast iron
- challenge
- demur
- else
- er
- ex
- Exc.
- excepting
- exceptionable
- exceptive
- exemption
- generally
- important
- issue
- Julian calendar
- mammal
- or
- outside
- peremptory exception
- point
