exclude
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to shut or keep out; prevent the entrance of.
- Antonyms:
- include
-
to shut out from consideration, privilege, etc..
Employees and their relatives were excluded from participation in the contest.
-
to expel and keep out; thrust out; eject.
He was excluded from the club for infractions of the rules.
- Synonyms:
- reject
verb
-
to keep out; prevent from entering
-
to reject or not consider; leave out
-
to expel forcibly; eject
-
to debar from school, either temporarily or permanently, as a form of punishment
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
excludernoun
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preexcludeverb (used with object)
-
excludableadjective
-
exclusoryadjective
-
unexcludedadjective
-
unexcludingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
excludesimple
-
excludessimple
-
have excludedperfect
-
has excludedperfect
-
am excludingprogressive
-
are excludingprogressive
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is excludingprogressive
-
have been excludingperfect progressive
-
has been excludingperfect progressive
Past
-
excludedsimple
-
had excludedperfect
-
was excludingprogressive
-
were excludingprogressive
-
had been excludingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exclude
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin exclūdere “to shut out, cut off,” from ex- ex- 1 + -clūdere, combining form of claudere “to shut, close”
Compare meaning
How does exclude compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Exclude means to leave out — like when the cool kids won't let you in on their game of four-square or the pizza guy leaves your neighborhood out from his delivery zone. Exclude comes to us from the Latin word excludere, which means "to shut." So essentially, when you exclude someone you slam the door in their face one way or another: You won't let them into the party, you leave them off the invite list, or refuse to include them in the conversation once they arrive. Needless to say, excluding others is not very nice.
Vocabulary lists containing exclude
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Case Closed: Clud, Clus
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UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Core PCE would still be well above 2% even if we exclude special factors that are likely temporarily boosting inflation,” Bank of America economist Aditya Bhave wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Each would exclude companies determined by fund managers to be “founded, controlled or led by” Musk, or which he is “primarily associated” with as a major shareholder or founder.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
The defence team, led by attorney Kathy Nester, has sought to exclude much of the evidence and have the death penalty taken off the table.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
MSG's owners have courted controversy by aggressively using facial recognition technology to detect and exclude not only lawyers who have sued the company -- but all of their colleagues too.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
How could it exclude every other smell, in open country on a south wind?
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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Growth in regular earnings - which excludes bonuses - remained unchanged, rising at an annual pace of 3.4% in the March to May period.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Its “Robinhood Investor Index” doesn’t faithfully break down their results, and it excludes options trading.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
It also excludes walk-ins and any more reservations made throughout the day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Despite the beats, the company said it still expects 2026 organic revenue, which excludes acquisitions, to increase between 2% and 4% and core EPS to rise between 4% and 6%.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
The clay hypothesis hardly excludes life on Mars, but it certainly carries us far enough to say that there is no compelling evidence for microbiology on Mars.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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No issue facing Southeast Asia's foreign ministers has been more fraught than how to reintegrate Myanmar, a member state formally excluded from such summits since its military junta seized power in 2021.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
However, the authors note that this choice could also have excluded some genuinely weak extraterrestrial signals.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
Terrified of the world, but determined to better understand what she’s been excluded from for so long, she’s determined to imagine her way into reality.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
It is understandable that you have questions about your parents’ guardianship, probate and inheritance, particularly given how excluded you felt.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
There really wasn’t any reason for Chestnutt to be excluded from Brer’s army of bunny spies—from what I’d seen, she was more than capable.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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PNC Bank data also show that lower-income household spending, excluding gasoline, has accelerated this year, narrowing the gap with higher-income spending growth to the slimmest margin since 2021.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
For this study they defined momentum as the price movement of the stock over the preceding 12 months, excluding the most recent month.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Meanwhile, annual wage growth excluding bonuses held steady in the three months through May at 3.4% for a third consecutive month, pointing to a stabilization of cost pressures for businesses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Also of interest to Wall Street are automotive gross margins excluding credits, a measure of the health of Tesla’s core vehicle business.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Many participles have turned into prepositions, such as according, allowing, barring, concerning, considering, excepting, excluding, failing, following, given, granted, including, owing, regarding, and respecting, and they don’t need subjects at all.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.