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exclusive. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
exclusive, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
exclusive in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
exclusive you have here. The definition of the word
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exclusive, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From Latin exclūsīvus, from excludere (“to shut out, exclude”), from ex- (“out”) + variant form of verb claudere (“to close, shut”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
exclusive (comparative more exclusive, superlative most exclusive)
- (literally) Excluding items or members that do not meet certain conditions.
- (figuratively) Referring to a membership organisation, service or product: of high quality and/or renown, for superior members only. A snobbish usage, suggesting that members who do not meet requirements, which may be financial, of social status, religion, skin colour etc., are excluded.
Exclusive clubs tend to serve exclusive brands of food and drinks, in the same exorbitant price range, such as the 'finest' French châteaux.
- Exclusionary.
- Whole, undivided, entire.
The teacher's pet commands the teacher's exclusive attention.
- (linguistics) Of or relating to the first-person plural pronoun when excluding the person being addressed.
The pronoun in "We're going to a party later, but you aren't invited" is an exclusive "we".
- (of two people in a romantic or sexual relationship) Having a romantic or sexual relationship with one another, to the exclusion of others.
They decided to no longer be exclusive.
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
excluding items or members that do not meet certain conditions
of high quality and/or renown
Translations to be checked
Noun
exclusive (plural exclusives)
- Information (or an artefact) that is granted or obtained exclusively.
- The editor agreed to keep a lid on a potentially disastrous political scoop in exchange for an exclusive of a happier nature.
- A member of a group who excludes others from their society.
1873, The Slang Dictionary, John Camden Hotten:The exclusives at the English Universities apply the term CAD to all non-members.
- (grammar) A word or phrase that restricts something, such as only, solely, or simply.
Translations
Further reading
- “exclusive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “exclusive”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
French
Adjective
exclusive
- feminine singular of exclusif
Latin
Adjective
exclūsīve
- vocative masculine singular of exclūsīvus