noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of exclusion
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin exclūsiōn- (stem of exclūsiō ), equivalent to exclūs(us) (past participle of exclūdere “to shut out”; see exclude) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
An exclusion is an instance of leaving something or someone out. If you love someone to the exclusion of all others, he or she is the only one for you! Exclusion is closely related to some words that have a positive or negative feel. The word exclusive implies something is high-end, desirable, and not for ordinary people. If someone is excluded, on the other hand, it means that someone has been deliberately and painfully left out. Exclusion is more neutral. The department store that advertises a big sale often states at the bottom of the ad that "some exclusions apply," meaning the discounts don't apply to all items.
Vocabulary lists containing exclusion
Case Closed: Clud, Clus
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Promises to Keep
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Geography and World Regions
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
U.S. expats in Malaysia must file U.S. taxes on global income, using the Foreign Tax Credit or Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to avoid double taxation.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026
When an American-born descendant of resident noncitizens sued after being refused re-entry to San Francisco under the Chinese Exclusion Act, the court recognized his natural-born citizenship.
From Salon • Dec. 9, 2025
That changed in 2013 when the Combat Exclusion Policy was lifted and by 2016 combat roles were open to all.
From BBC • Oct. 1, 2025
More ominously, the West Coast white-labor movement pushed for Chinese immigrant labor exclusion from railroads, resulting in the Chinese Exclusion Act, the first but not last U.S. immigration-restriction law.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 27, 2025
“Mom, please. There are tons of people outside. Besides, there are so many armed Exclusion Guards around, it’s not like I can get mugged.”
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
