exclude
Americanverb (used with object)
-
excludes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
excluded,
past participle, past
-
excluding
present participle
-
to shut or keep out; prevent the entrance of.
- Antonyms:
- include
-
to shut out from consideration, privilege, etc..
Employees and their relatives were excluded from participation in the contest.
-
to expel and keep out; thrust out; eject.
He was excluded from the club for infractions of the rules.
- Synonyms:
- reject
verb
-
to keep out; prevent from entering
-
to reject or not consider; leave out
-
to expel forcibly; eject
-
to debar from school, either temporarily or permanently, as a form of punishment
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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excludernoun
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preexcludeverb (used with object)
-
excludableadjective
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exclusoryadjective
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unexcludedadjective
-
unexcludingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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excludesimple
-
excludessimple
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have excludedperfect
-
has excludedperfect
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am excludingprogressive
-
are excludingprogressive
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is excludingprogressive
-
have been excludingperfect progressive
-
has been excludingperfect progressive
Past
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excludedsimple
-
had excludedperfect
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was excludingprogressive
-
were excludingprogressive
-
had been excludingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exclude
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin exclūdere “to shut out, cut off,” from ex- ex- 1 + -clūdere, combining form of claudere “to shut, close”
Compare meaning
How does exclude compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Exclude means to leave out — like when the cool kids won't let you in on their game of four-square or the pizza guy leaves your neighborhood out from his delivery zone. Exclude comes to us from the Latin word excludere, which means "to shut." So essentially, when you exclude someone you slam the door in their face one way or another: You won't let them into the party, you leave them off the invite list, or refuse to include them in the conversation once they arrive. Needless to say, excluding others is not very nice.
Vocabulary lists containing exclude
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Case Closed: Clud, Clus
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UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #1
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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:
However, the report also quotes its gross margins — above 80% — exclude revenue shared with distribution partners, as well as the cost of training its models.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
He added: "We cannot exclude that the escalation will also affect our territory... I hope not."
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
The proposed new calculation would exclude immigrants in the country illegally, which various analyses estimate total about 15 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Tail Town Cats doesn’t exclude adopters who consider walking their cats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
During the last week of January the locks on the Intracoastal Waterway were closed to exclude the toxic waters from Matagorda Bay and divert them into the Gulf of Mexico.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
According to the report, adjusted operating income excludes stock-based compensation, which is not unusual for technology companies.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.4% on year in August and 0.2% on month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
It excludes individuals who earn $500,000 or more.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Carney also asked provinces to ensure they remove any language in procurement policies that "specifically excludes the United States," Houston said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
It thus systematically excludes from consideration the very feature which makes scientific arguments distinctive: their appeal to superior evidence.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Chemours, DuPont de Nemours and Corteva have settled with North Carolina and 11 communities that were excluded from a previous settlement over drinking-water toxins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Generally speaking, it applies to programs aimed at expanding the pool of participants in social, economic and political life to include groups that have been traditionally excluded or underserved.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
And when the Morgan Stanley strategists pointed to “strong free cash flow,” they excluded the two largest names in the group — at least for now.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
In response to the furore over PC Harper's case, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said anyone convicted of unlawful killing - including all forms of manslaughter - will be excluded from the scheme.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
“They just really excluded me from it,” was the way he described it.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Core prices excluding food and energy were up 2.4% in August from a year ago, matching analysts’ expectations and slightly cooler than July’s yearly increase, the Labor Department reported Friday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
This year her department has a slate of 44 new and returning scripted series from the U.S. and Canada, excluding stand-up, comedy formats and adult animation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Producer prices rose 0.4%, and the same excluding food and energy, the Labor Department said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Back-to-back Champions League winners Paris St-Germain have nine players - excluding new signing Torres - nominated, including last year's winner Ousmane Dembele.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Drew followed, but Erin kept her back to him, excluding him from the conversation.
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
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.
