exclusive or

noun

Exclusive disjunction: the use of or to indicate that of two predicates, one is true and one is false (without specifying which is which); contrasted with inclusive or, which does not imply that one must be false.

Meanings

nounexclusive or (plural exclusive ors)

plural exclusive ors · alternative exclusive-or · alternative XOR · alternative xor · alternative EOR · alternative eor

  1. computingExclusive disjunction: the use of or to indicate that of two predicates, one is true and one is false (without specifying which is which); contrasted with inclusive or, which does not imply that one must be false.
  2. broadlycomputingExclusive disjunction: the use of or to indicate that of two or more predicates, an odd number are true (without specifying which or how many); contrasted with inclusive or, which indicates only that one or more is true.
  3. computingAn exclusive disjunction; the result of applying the above-described exclusive or to two or more predicates; contrasted with an inclusive or, which is the result of applying an inclusive or.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

Translations

Finnish eksklusiivinen tai, poissulkeva tai
  • eksklusiivinen taiexclusive disjunction
  • poissulkeva taiexclusive disjunction
French ou exclusif
  • ou exclusifexclusive disjunction
German exklusives Oder
  • exklusives Oderexclusive disjunction
Hungarian kizáró vagy
  • kizáró vagyexclusive disjunction
Japanese 排他的論理和
  • 排他的論理和 (haitateki ronriwa)exclusive disjunction
Polish alternatywa rozłączna, ekskluzja
  • alternatywa rozłącznaexclusive disjunction
  • ekskluzjaexclusive disjunction
Russian исключа́ющее «ИЛИ»
  • исключа́ющее «ИЛИ»exclusive disjunction
Spanish o exclusivo
  • o exclusivoexclusive disjunction
Swedish exklusivt eller
  • exklusivt ellerexclusive disjunction
Cite this entry
APA

exclusive or. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exclusive%20or

MLA

“exclusive or.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exclusive%20or. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “exclusive or,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exclusive%20or.

Source: exclusive or on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.