exempt
- to free from an obligation or liability to which others are subject; release: to exempt a student from an examination.
- released from, or not subject to, an obligation, liability, etc.: organizations exempt from taxes.
- a person who is exempt from an obligation, duty, etc.
- (in Britain) exon.
Origin of exempt
Synonyms
See more synonyms for exempt on Thesaurus.comExamples from the Web for exempt
Contemporary Examples
Surely, Hollywood should not be exempt from such a standard.
Individuals and businesses could exempt themselves from anti-discrimination laws by proffering religious objections to them.
A handful of Christians have even joined the Israeli military, although Arabs of any confession are exempt from military service.
In short, the United States is having a bit of an existential crisis, and no one, not even Hollywood, has been exempt.
Homeschoolers would likely be exempt, then, but we do need to abolish the Classics Major.
Historical Examples
But its prisoners were not exempt from its heat, like certain holy ones of old.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
From evil—physical, moral, and political—it is not our claim to be exempt.
Now, why should the rich man be exempt from a similar investigation?'
A Woman IntervenesRobert Barr
To the west, the Fork, the lands are pretty flat, but exempt from inundations.
The History of LouisianaLe Page Du Pratz
He would not have been at the exempt, but the sight of the other depressed him.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, CompleteDuc de Saint-Simon
exempt
- (tr) to release from an obligation, liability, tax, etc; excuseto exempt a soldier from drill
- freed from or not subject to an obligation, liability, tax, etc; excusedexempt gilts; tax-exempt bonus
- obsolete set apart; remote
- a person who is exempt from an obligation, tax, etc
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for exempt
adj.
late 14c., from Old French exempt (13c.) and directly from Latin exemptus, past participle of eximere "remove, take out, take away; free, release, deliver, make an exception of," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + emere "buy," originally "take," from PIE root *em- "to take, distribute" (cf. Latin sumere "to take, obtain, buy," Old Church Slavonic imo "to take," Lithuanian imui, Sanskrit yamati "holds, subdues"). For sense shift from "take" to "buy," compare Old English sellan "to give," source of Modern English sell "to give in exchange for money;" Hebrew laqah "he bought," originally "he took;" and colloquial English I'll take it for "I'll buy it."
v.
mid-15c., from Middle French exempter, from exempt (adj.); see exempt (adj.). Related: Exempted; exempting.