excellence

American  

[ek-suh-luhns] / ˈɛk sə ləns /

noun

excellences plural

1. the fact or state of excelling; superiority; eminence.

   his excellence in mathematics.

   Synonyms:

   distinction, transcendence, preeminence

2. an excellent quality or feature.

   Use of herbs is one of the excellences of French cuisine.

   Synonyms:

   virtue, merit

   Antonyms:

   inferiority

3. (usually initial capital letter) excellency.

---

excellence British  

/ ˈɛksələns /

noun

1. the state or quality of excelling or being exceptionally good; extreme merit; superiority

2. an action, characteristic, feature, etc, in which a person excels

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• superexcellence
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• excellences
  plural

Etymology

Origin of excellence

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin excellentia; equivalent to excel + -ence

Explanation

Excellence means greatness — the very best. Achieving excellence is never easy to do. Excellence is a quality that people really appreciate, because it's so hard to find. Excellence is the quality of excelling, of being truly the best at something. Getting an A+ shows excellence. Michael Jordan's basketball career was filled with excellence. We love Picasso and Shakespeare for their excellence. When you see excellence, you should appreciate the work that went into it. So much in the world falls short of excellence.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

excellence excellences

It feels almost absurd to ask about a player who has spent more than two decades redefining footballing excellence.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

At a time when drama has come to depend on celebrity leads and commercial hype, this bounty of understated excellence is heartening.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

In some ways, the R2’s general excellence is just good timing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

Or is Juneteenth a celebration of the strength and excellence that both grew out of the great evil that slavery represented and in spite of it, an evil that still afflicts the nation in 2026?

From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026

“If what everyone has told me is true, if only real excellence can win the pipes, then one of those women will know Aloine’s part.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

It is a film of excellences, never more so than in the performances by Robert De Niro and a remarkable supporting cast.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2023

The days after VE Day were perfect for a tragic English opera with an English setting, and its musical excellences were supplemented by a sense of its national significance.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 7, 2013

For all its excellences, it would have been a bigger book if Rabbit had been a bigger man.

From Time Magazine Archive

What saves it is that no one cares about anything but the astonishing excellences of Miss Laurette Taylor as the infinitely pathetic mother.

From Time Magazine Archive

Nothing, one would say, could better inculcate by explicit example the measured and disciplined practice, the ship-shape and organic result which—plus, of course, literary talent—are the elementary excellences of this prevalent form of literary expression.

From Vignettes of Manhattan; Outlines in Local Color by Matthews, Brander

Related Words

• greatness
• merit
• perfection
• purity
• quality
• supremacy
• virtue