Meaning & use
exclamations
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“exclamations” is a form of “exclamation”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountable
Words or sounds that express strong emotion, such as surprise, anger, or joy.
Grammar: Countable noun; the singular is 'exclamation'. Often used in the plural to refer to various such expressions.
Patterns
- exclamations of surprise
- make exclamations
- utter exclamations
The crowd let out exclamations of delight when the singer appeared.
Her speech was full of exclamations like 'Wow!' and 'Amazing!'
He made several exclamations of frustration as he tried to fix the computer.
nouncountablespecialist
In grammar, a type of sentence or phrase that expresses strong feeling, often ending with an exclamation mark.
Grammar: Countable; usually plural when referring to multiple examples. Often used in language learning contexts.
Patterns
- exclamations in English
- use exclamations
- list of exclamations
The teacher asked the class to write three exclamations using 'how' and 'what'.
In English, exclamations often begin with 'What a' or 'How'.
She studied common exclamations like 'Oh no!' and 'Great!' in her conversation class.
Word forms
| singular | exclamation |
|---|
Common combinations
- exclamations of joy
- There were exclamations of joy when the team won.
- exclamations of surprise
- Her exclamations of surprise could be heard across the room.
- a series of exclamations
- He greeted us with a series of exclamations in Italian.
- common exclamations
- 'Oh my!' and 'Goodness!' are common exclamations in English.
Synonyms and how they differ
- interjections
- In grammar, interjections are a word class (like 'wow' or 'ouch'), while exclamations can be whole sentences or phrases expressing emotion.
- cries
- Cries often suggest louder, more emotional sounds, whereas exclamations can be spoken or written and may be more controlled.
- outbursts
- Outbursts are sudden and often uncontrolled expressions of emotion, while exclamations can be brief and intentional.
Word family
- exclaim verb
- To say something suddenly and loudly because of strong emotion.
- exclamation mark noun
- The punctuation mark (!) used at the end of an exclamation.
- exclamatory adjective
- Describing a sentence or phrase that expresses strong emotion.
Commonly confused: exclamations or exclamation mark?
exclamations vs exclamation mark
An exclamation is the word or phrase; the exclamation mark is the punctuation symbol (!).
Practice
Which sentence uses 'exclamations' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option B correctly uses 'exclamations' as a plural noun meaning emotional expressions. Option An incorrectly uses 'exclamations' instead of 'exclamation mark'. Option C uses 'exclamations' as a verb, which is wrong. Option D has a plural noun with a singular verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “exclamations”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.