ex

[eks]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ex ON THESAURUS.COM

preposition

Finance. without, not including, or without the right to have: ex interest; ex rights.

Commerce. free of charges to the purchaser until the time of removal from a specified place or thing: ex ship; ex warehouse; ex elevator.

(in U.S. colleges and universities) from, but not graduated with, the class of: ex '47.

Origin of ex

1835–45; < L. See ex-¹

ex

[eks]

noun

the letter X, x.

ex

[eks]

noun Informal.

a former spouse or a former partner in a long-term romantic relationship; ex-wife, ex-husband, or ex-lover.

Origin of ex

First recorded in 1820–30; by shortening

ex

⁴

[eks]

adjective Slang.

excellent(def 1).

Origin of ex

⁴

by shortening

ex.

examined.

executed.

ex-

a prefix meaning “out of,” “from,” and hence “utterly,” “thoroughly,” and sometimes meaning “not” or “without” or indicating a former title, status, etc.; freely used as an English formative: exstipulate; exterritorial; ex-president (former president); ex-member; ex-wife.

Also e-¹, ef-.

Origin of ex-

< Latin, combining form of ex, ē (preposition) out (of), from, beyond

ex-

variant of exo-.

ex-

a prefix identical in meaning with ex- 1, occurring before vowels in words of Greek origin: exarch; exegesis.

Also ec-.

Origin of ex-

< Gk combining form of ex, ek, out (of), from, beyond; see ec-, ex-¹

Ex.

Exodus.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ex

previous, past, sometime, old, once, early, preceding, earlier, late, prior, recent, departed, erstwhile, retiring, last, departing, latter, ancient, bygone, over

Examples from the Web for ex

Contemporary Examples of ex

According to Hennadi Moskal of the Ukrainian police, Girkin is an ex warrant officer in the GRU.
The Kremlin’s Crazy Shock Troops
Oleg Shynkarenko
May 22, 2014
It was potentially an awesome sum, 50 percent of which would go to his ex.
The Climax of ‘Portnoy’s Complaint’
Robert Hofler
May 14, 2014
NRA defends the constitutional right to something similar, ex post facto.
P.J. O’Rourke: Who Really Actually Wants This Bill of Rights?
P. J. O’Rourke
April 12, 2014
The one where he yelled at his ex, Vienna, until she cried.
Juan Pablo Has Ruined ‘The Bachelor’
Brandy Zadrozny
February 11, 2014
Rebound sex can also be a great opportunity to make up for what someone lacked when they were with their ex.
People Who Have Had Rebound Sex Tell Us Why It Is Awesome
Emily Shire
January 31, 2014

Historical Examples of ex

The ex Governor's warmth had been somewhat cooled by the unexpected interruption.
The Manxman
Hall Caine
If this is not the system of the party, they have none, and act ‘ex tempore.’
Patrick Henry
Moses Coit Tyler
The priest was ex officio, but Captain Dwyer was a gentleman, born and bred.
Arthur O'Leary
Charles James Lever
Ex parte: on one side; an ex parte statement is a statement on one side only.
The Verbalist
Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres)
The traditions on the subject are unsupported, ex parte, and legendary.
A Critical Exposition of the Popular 'Jihd'
Moulavi Gergh Ali

British Dictionary definitions for ex

ex

preposition

finance not participating in; excluding; withoutex bonus; ex dividend; ex rights

commerce without charge to the buyer until removed fromex quay; ex ship; ex works

Word Origin for ex

C19: from Latin: out of, from

ex

noun

informal (a person's) former wife, husband, etc

Canadian short for examination

ex-

prefix

out of; outside of; fromexclosure; exurbia

formerex-wife

Word Origin for ex-

from Latin, from ex (prep), identical in meaning and origin with Greek ex, ek; see ec-

ex-

combining form

a variant of exo- exergonic

Ex.

abbreviation for

Exodus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ex

1827, originally short for ex-Catholic; ultimately from Latin ex (see ex-). Since 1929 as abbreviation for ex-wife, ex-husband, etc. Also used in some commercial senses for "from, out of."

ex-

word-forming element, in English meaning mainly "out of, from," but also "upwards, completely, deprive of, without," and "former;" from Latin ex "out of, from within," from PIE *eghs "out" (cf. Gaulish ex-, Old Irish ess-, Old Church Slavonic izu, Russian iz). In some cases also from Greek cognate ex, ek. PIE *eghs had comparative form *eks-tero and superlative *eks-t(e)r-emo-.

ex in Medicine

ex-

pref.

Outside; out of; away from:excementosis.