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.
“There are worries that it could lead to an uncontrollable security situation…so something which is not what the Iranians want but not their total exclusion either.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026
Tuchel not only had to deal with a "shocked and gutted" Maguire after he learned of his exclusion from England's World Cup, he also copped a blast from his "absolutely disgusted" mother Zoe.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
Nearly 150 members of Congress — including more than a dozen Republicans — wrote a letter the day after the rule was promulgated expressing “disappointment” over the exclusion of post-baccalaureate nursing degrees.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
Federal law allows for single filers to exclude $250,000 in capital‑gains tax on the profit from the sale of a home; for joint filers, the exclusion is $500,000.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
Chandrasekhar showed that a collapsing star that has about 1.4 times the mass of our sun will have enough gravity to overwhelm the Pauli exclusion principle.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
