exemplary

[ ig-zem-pluh-ree, eg-zuhm-pler-ee ]

/ ɪgˈzɛm plə ri, ˈɛg zəmˌplɛr i /

adjective

worthy of imitation; commendable: exemplary conduct.

serving as a warning: an exemplary penalty.

serving as an illustration or specimen; illustrative; typical: The sentences read are exemplary of the style of the essay as a whole.

serving as a model or pattern: The authoritative and exemplary text of the work is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University.

of, relating to, or composed of exempla, or examples or models: the exemplary literature of the medieval period.

Nearby words

exegetics, exemia, exempla, exemplar, exemplarism, exemplary, exemplary damages, exempli causa, exempli gratia, exemplification, exemplificative

Origin of exemplary

1400–50 for earlier sense “model, exemplar”; 1580–90 for def 1; late Middle English (noun) < Latin exemplāris. See exemplum, -ary

SYNONYMS FOR exemplary

1 laudable, noteworthy, praiseworthy.

Related forms

ex·em·pla·ri·ly, adverbex·em·pla·ri·ness, ex·em·plar·i·ty [eg-zuhm-plar-i-tee] /ˌɛg zəmˈplær ɪ ti/, nounnon·ex·em·pla·ry, adjectiveun·ex·em·pla·ry, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for exemplarity

exemplary

/ (ɪɡˈzɛmplərɪ) /

adjective

fit for imitation; modelan exemplary performance

serving as a warning; admonitoryan exemplary jail sentence

representative; typicalan action exemplary of his conduct

Derived Forms

exemplarily, adverbexemplariness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012