Meaning & use
exceptionally
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Meanings
adverbnot comparable
To a degree well beyond what is normal; unusually or extremely.
Grammar: Goes before an adjective or adverb: exceptionally clever, exceptionally well.
Patterns
- exceptionally + adjective
- exceptionally well
The exam was exceptionally difficult this year.
She plays the violin exceptionally well for her age.
It was an exceptionally cold winter.
adverbnot comparableformal
Only in an unusual case, as a special exception to the normal rule.
Grammar: Often at the start of a sentence, followed by a comma.
Patterns
- exceptionally, someone may do something
Exceptionally, the library will stay open until midnight during exams.
The committee exceptionally allowed him to submit late.
Exceptionally, students can apply after the deadline.
Common combinations
- exceptionally talented
- The young chef is exceptionally talented.
- exceptionally well
- The team performed exceptionally well under pressure.
- exceptionally rare
- These stamps are exceptionally rare.
- exceptionally high
- Demand for tickets was exceptionally high.
- exceptionally kind
- The nurses were exceptionally kind to us.
Synonyms and how they differ
- extremely
- Extremely is a plain intensifier, while exceptionally also suggests the quality is unusual compared with others.
- remarkably
- Remarkably suggests the quality is worth noticing, which makes it slightly more about the speaker's surprise.
- unusually
- Unusually stresses that something is different from the normal, but not necessarily very strong.
- very
- Very is the weakest and most common choice, and exceptionally is more formal and emphatic.
Opposites
Word family
- exception noun
- something that does not follow the usual rule
- exceptional adjective
- unusually good, or unusual in a special case
- exceptionable adjective
- open to objection (formal)
- unexceptional adjective
- ordinary and not special
Commonly confused: exceptionally or exceptional?
exceptionally vs exceptional
Exceptional is the adjective and describes a noun, as in an exceptional student. Exceptionally is the adverb and describes an adjective or verb.
Practice
Choose the correct word: The soup was ___ salty, so nobody could finish it.
Choose one answer.
An adverb is needed to modify the adjective salty, so exceptionally is correct. Exceptional is an adjective and cannot modify salty.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “exceptionally”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.