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exceptionalist

American  
[ik-sep-shuhn-uhl-ist] / ɪkˈsɛp ʃən əl ɪst /

noun

plural

exceptionalists
  1. a person who believes that a nation, region, or political system is exceptional; a believer in exceptionalism.


adjective

  1. relating to or characterized by exceptionalism.

Other Word Forms

  • exceptionalist adjective

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.

They also clarify the damage wrought by our collective amnesia and our refusal to learn from history – an outgrowth of our propensity to view our place in history from an exceptionalist perspective.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2025

Along the way Drake came to embody a streak of Englishness — bumptious, tenacious, patriotic, crafty, vainglorious and defiantly exceptionalist — that is back with a vengeance.

From New York Times • Mar. 10, 2021

Even later, as much of the country acquiesced to the greed-is-good eighties and the end-of-history nineties, Esalen clung to its exceptionalist vibe.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 19, 2019

Are you saying that he is not an American exceptionalist?

From Slate • Oct. 23, 2018

While King did care about black and/or poor people in the United States and around the world, he was no American exceptionalist.

From The Guardian • Jan. 15, 2018