noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
After applying the $20 general income exclusion, countable income would be $680.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
Verisk had already filed a generative-AI exclusion effective for general liability renewals as of Jan. 1, which insurers across the market have taken up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
"This policy is not exclusion, it is structured inclusion," said Payne Farai Kupfuwa, founder of the Young Miners Foundation, welcoming the move.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
"Aviemore is very much open for business but we still have an exclusion zone in place around the actual operational incident," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 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
Eleven days before OpenAI’s disclosure, the Insurer media outlet published that Verisk’s Insurance Services Office confirmed it was weighing coverage exclusions for agentic AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Before the latest figures, rates of suspensions and exclusions in England's schools had been rising since before the pandemic.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
They allege that the final regulations for the law, drafted and approved by the state’s waste agency, include exclusions for large categories of plastic packaging that companies could use indefinitely.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
Tankers and shippers may have to deal with insurance coverage gaps, as some policies may have exclusions or waiting periods before war-risk coverage returns to normal rates, he added.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026
I merely take a convenient metaphor, which crystallises a profound truth, though fully conscious of its shortcomings and exclusions.
From Flowers of Freethought (First Series) by G. W. (George William) Foote
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.
