Exception

/əkˈsɛpʃən/

Synonyms for "exception" (268 found)

Ranked by relevance and common usage.

Closest matches (54)

Strong matches (80)

Related words (134)

Choosing the right synonym

  • Closest matches in this entry: abjuration, abjurement, abnormalities, abnormality, adverse criticism.
  • Sentence evidence is available for exception, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
  • Ranking signals come from moby, derived_reverse, opengloss, wordnet, and related lexical sources.

Synonym selection checklist

  • Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
  • Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
  • Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "exception".
  • Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.

When not to replace "exception"

Keep "exception" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.

If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.

Replacement workflow

1. Preserve meaning

Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "exception" intact in the sentence you are editing.

2. Tune tone

Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.

3. Re-read context

Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.

Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.

Final fit check

After choosing a replacement for "exception", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.

If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "exception" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.

Related word relations

OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.

5 relation types

More general

11 entries

More specific

4 entries

Collocations

5 entries
exception to the rulegrant an exceptionmake an exceptionspecial exceptionwith the exception of

Inflections

1 entries

Derivations

3 entries

Translations

87 translations across 61 languages.

Powered by Wiktionary

Albanian

1 entries
  • përjashtim noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Arabic

1 entries
  • اِسْتِثْنَاء noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Armenian

1 entries
  • բացառություն noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Asturian

1 entries
  • esceición noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Azerbaijani

1 entries
  • istisna noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Belarusian

1 entries
  • вы́нятак noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Bulgarian

2 entries
  • изключе́ние noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • отво́д noun ((law) an objection)

Catalan

2 entries
  • excepció noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • excepció noun ((law) an objection)

Chinese Mandarin

1 entries
  • 例外 noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Czech

1 entries
  • výjimka noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Danish

1 entries
  • undtagelse noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Dutch

1 entries
  • uitzondering noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Esperanto

1 entries
  • escepto noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Estonian

1 entries
  • erand noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Finnish

2 entries
  • ehto noun ((law) an objection)
  • poikkeus noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

French

1 entries
  • exception noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Galician

1 entries
  • excepción noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Georgian

1 entries
  • გამონაკლისი noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

German

1 entries
  • Ausnahme noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Greek

1 entries
  • εξαίρεση noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Hebrew

3 entries
  • חָרִיג noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • יוֹצֵא דֹּפֶן noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • יוצא דופן noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Hindi

1 entries
  • अपवाद noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Hungarian

3 entries
  • ellenvetés noun ((law) an objection)
  • kifogás noun ((law) an objection)
  • kivétel noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Icelandic

1 entries
  • undantekning noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Indonesian

2 entries
  • pengecualian noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • pengecualian noun ((law) an objection)

Ingrian

1 entries
  • iskljucenija noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Iranian Persian

1 entries
  • اِسْتِثْنا noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Irish

2 entries
  • eisceacht noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • eisceacht noun ((law) an objection)

Italian

1 entries
  • eccezione noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Japanese

2 entries
  • 例外 noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Kazakh

1 entries
  • ерекшелік noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Korean

2 entries
  • 례외 noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • 예외 noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Kyrgyz

2 entries
  • бөтөнчө noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • өзгөчө noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Latin

2 entries
  • exceptio noun ((law) an objection)
  • exceptiō noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Latvian

1 entries
  • izņēmums noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Lithuanian

1 entries
  • išimtis noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Macedonian

1 entries
  • исклучок noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Malay

2 entries
  • pengecualian noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • pengecualian noun ((law) an objection)

Māori

2 entries
  • hāungatanga noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • rerenga noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Norwegian Bokmål

2 entries
  • aberrasjon noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • unntak noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Pashto

1 entries
  • استثنا noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Polish

1 entries
  • wyjątek noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Portuguese

1 entries
  • exceção noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Romanian

1 entries
  • excepție noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Russian

2 entries
  • исключе́ние noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • отво́д noun ((law) an objection)

Scottish Gaelic

1 entries
  • fàgail a-mach noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Serbo-Croatian

3 entries
  • iznimka noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • izuzétak noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • изузе́так noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Slovak

1 entries
  • výnimka noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Slovene

1 entries
  • izjema noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Spanish

2 entries
  • excepción noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • salvedad noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Swedish

1 entries
  • undantag noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Tajik

1 entries
  • истисно noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Thai

2 entries
  • การยกเว้น noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • ข้อยกเว้น noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Turkish

1 entries
  • istisna noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Ukrainian

2 entries
  • ви́йняток noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • ви́няток noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Urdu

2 entries
  • اِسْتِثْنا noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • اِسْتِثْنیٰ noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Uyghur

1 entries
  • ئىستىسنا noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Uzbek

1 entries
  • istisno noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Vietnamese

2 entries
  • lệ ngoại noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • ngoại lệ noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Welsh

2 entries
  • eithriad noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • gwrthwynebiad noun ((law) an objection)

Zazaki

2 entries
  • ciya (diq) noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)
  • istisna noun (that which is excepted or taken out from others)

Sample sentences

14 total sentences available.

Tatoeba + Wiktionary

We will make an exception of your case.

Source: tatoeba (17049)

There is an exception to every rule.

Source: tatoeba (37529)

Every team, without exception, was defeated.

Source: tatoeba (37585)

Those regulations all apply to everyone without a single exception.

Source: tatoeba (42003)

Showing 4 of 14 available sentences.

Common questions

What are the closest synonyms for "exception"?

Closest matches include abjuration, abjurement, abnormalities, abnormality, adverse criticism.

How should I check whether a synonym fits "exception"?

Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.

More for "exception"