Dictionary

exceptionalism en · NOUN

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs Proto-Italic *eks Latin ex Latin ex- substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti Proto-Italic *kapjō Archaic Latin kapiō Latin capiō Latin excipiō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin exceptiōder. Old French excepcion Anglo-Norman excepciounbor. Middle English exception English exception English -al English exceptional Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English exceptionalism From exceptional + -ism.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The state of being special, exceptional or unique.
2. (countable, uncountable) The belief that something (a nation, species etc.) is exceptional, superior, or does not conform to an established norm.
   • But in fact the antinomy of exceptionalism and assimilationism has been there all along, and otherwise puzzling decisions from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries become readily understandable when seen as moments when assimilationism was ascendant. 2024 September 30, Michael Doran, “EXCEPTIONALISM AND ASSIMILATIONISM IN FEDERAL INDIAN LAW”, in Stanford Law School, volume 20, number 2, page 268, archived from the original on 24 Feb 2025:
   • “This is a moment of American exceptionalism,” Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said when asked about the flight during a Tuesday news conference. 2021 July 20, Neil Vigdor, quoting Jen Psaki, “Bezos thanks Amazon workers and customers for his vast wealth, prompting backlash.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 24 Jul 2021:
   • If Covid-19 eventually imbues human beings with some humility, it’s possible that we will, after all, be receptive to the lessons of this lethal pandemic. Or perhaps we will sink back into our culture of complacent exceptionalism and await the next plague that will surely arrive. 2020 April 9, Richard Horton, “Coronavirus is the greatest global science policy failure in a generation”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 28 Apr 2021:
3. (countable, uncountable) A philosophy of prevention or of intervention.

Forms

Translations (17)

de Exzeptionalismus (belief that a particular nation does not conform to an established norm) · pt excepcionalismo (state of being exceptional) · fa استثناگرایی (belief that a particular nation does not conform to an established norm) · pt excepcionalismo (belief that a particular nation does not conform to an established norm) · cmn 例外論 /例外论 (belief that a particular nation does not conform to an established norm) · vi chủ nghĩa ngoại lệ (belief that a particular nation does not conform to an established norm) · fi ekseptionalismi (belief that a particular nation does not conform to an established norm) · mk исклучителност (state of being exceptional) · id eksepsionalisme (belief that a particular nation does not conform to an established norm) · pt excepcionalismo (philosophy of prevention or of intervention) · fr exceptionnalisme (belief that a particular nation does not conform to an established norm) · tr istisnacılık (belief that a particular nation does not conform to an established norm) · es excepcionalismo (belief that a particular nation does not conform to an established norm) · ru национальная исключительность (belief that a particular nation does not conform to an established norm) · de Exzeptionalismus (state of being exceptional) · ko 예외주의 (belief that a particular nation does not conform to an established norm) · cmn 例外主義 /例外主义 (belief that a particular nation does not conform to an established norm)