exceptionalism

American  

[ik-sep-shuh-nl-iz-uhm] / ɪkˈsɛp ʃə nlˌɪz əm /

noun

1. the condition of being exceptional; uniqueness.

2. the study of the unique and exceptional.

3. a theory that a nation, region, or political system is exceptional and does not conform to the norm.

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exceptionalism British  

/ ɪkˈsɛpʃənəlɪzəm /

noun

1. an attitude to other countries, cultures, etc based on the idea of being quite distinct from, and often superior to, them in vital ways

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Etymology

Origin of exceptionalism

First recorded in 1925–30; exceptional ( def. ) + -ism ( def. )

Example Sentences

Wall Street, he observes, is “sensibly rotating from AI spenders to beneficiaries, services to manufacturing, U.S. exceptionalism to global rebalancing.”

From MarketWatch

“American exceptionalism,” our ability to generate and sustain higher living standards, has come in part from developing new technology and benefiting from being the first to implement it, and in part from our ability to move labor and capital dislocated by the wave of creative destruction efficiently into higher and better uses.

From The Wall Street Journal

Longer term, European shares and the euro remain positioned to benefit from investors’ faltering faith in U.S. exceptionalism.

From Barron's

There are fears that renaming KwaZulu-Natal would create a kind of exceptionalism that could lead to more trouble in the ethnically diverse country which has 11 official languages.

From BBC

“Our forecasts for 2026 point to a return of U.S. exceptionalism this year,” Goltermann added, referring to the belief that the U.S. has a distinctive advantage over its peers and that benefits its equity market and the dollar, the world’s reserve currency.

From Barron's