Meaning & use
excellence
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Meanings
noununcountable
The state of being exceptionally good, reaching a very high standard in some activity.
Grammar: Has no plural in this sense and is often followed by in or of: excellence in teaching.
Patterns
- excellence in something
- strive for excellence
The school is known for academic excellence.
She received an award for excellence in nursing.
Their restaurant has built its name on culinary excellence.
nounusually pluralformal
A particular strong point or admirable quality.
Grammar: Appears mostly in formal or older writing: the excellences of the design.
Patterns
- the excellences of something
The critic praised the many excellences of the new translation.
He listed the excellences of each candidate before voting.
Word forms
| plural | excellences |
|---|
Common combinations
- strive for excellence
- The coach told the team to strive for excellence every day.
- academic excellence
- The scholarship rewards academic excellence.
- pursuit of excellence
- His pursuit of excellence left little time for rest.
- centre of excellence
- The hospital is a centre of excellence for heart surgery.
- commitment to excellence
- The company is proud of its commitment to excellence.
Synonyms and how they differ
- superiority
- Superiority compares one thing with another, while excellence refers to a high standard on its own terms.
- quality
- Quality is a neutral word that can be good or bad, so excellence is needed to say the quality is outstanding.
- brilliance
- Brilliance suggests dazzling skill or intelligence, while excellence suggests steady high standards.
- distinction
- Distinction stresses being set apart and honored, often in formal results, and is less about the quality itself.
Opposites
Word family
- excellent adjective
- extremely good
- excel verb
- to be very good at something
- excellently adverb
- in an outstanding way
- excellency noun
- a title of respect for officials such as ambassadors
Commonly confused: excellence or excellency?
excellence vs excellency
Excellency is a formal title of address (His Excellency); excellence is the quality of being outstanding.
Practice
Which phrase uses a preposition correctly with excellence?
Choose one answer.
Excellence in a subject or field is the standard pattern. On and with are not used this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “excellence”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.