unexceptional

U1N1E1X8C3E1P3T1I1O1N1A1L1
/ˌʌnɪkˈsɛpʃənəl/

adjective

Not exceptional.

Opposite
UncommonScrabble 24

Meanings

adjectiveunexceptional (comparative more unexceptional, superlative most unexceptional)

comparative more unexceptional · superlative most unexceptional

  1. Not exceptional.

    Uncle Shemp was alarmingly unexceptional. He had no detectable lifestyle, and his only accomplishment was the fact that he was a lifelong member of the general public.

    2004, George Carlin, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 286
    1 more example

    In the other direction, treatments that were decried in their time as paving the road to hell, including vaccination, transfusions, anesthesia, artificial insemination, organ transplants, and in-vitro fertilization, have become unexceptional boons to human well-being.

    2015 August 1, Steven Pinker, “The moral imperative for bioethics”, in The Boston Globe, archived from the original on 03 Dec 2015

    Synonyms: lackluster, pedestrian, mundane, plain, average, comme ci comme ça, crappy, moderate · Antonyms: exceptional

Synonyms & antonyms

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivenot special in any way; lacking distinction

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Germanic*un-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*un-
  5. Old Englishun-
  6. Middle Englishun-
  7. Englishun-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰ
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰs
  10. Proto-Italic*eks
  11. Latinex
  12. Latinex-
  13. Proto-Indo-European*kap-
  14. Proto-Indo-European*kapyéti
  15. Proto-Italic*kapjō
  16. Latincapiō
  17. Latinexcipiō
  18. Latinexceptiō
  19. Old Frenchexcepcion
  20. Anglo-Normanexcepcioun
  21. Middle Englishexception
  22. Englishexception
  23. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  24. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  25. Englishexceptional
  26. Englishunexceptional

From un- + exceptional.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

unexceptional. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unexceptional

MLA

“unexceptional.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unexceptional. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unexceptional,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unexceptional.

Source: unexceptional on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.