Exclusive
adjectiveRestricted or available only to a particular person or select group; not shared.
How to spell exclusive
9 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce exclusive
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does exclusive mean?
- adjectiveRestricted or available only to a particular person or select group; not shared.
- nounA news story or interview reported by only one publication or broadcaster.
Exclusive in a sentence
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adjective
The resort caters to an exclusive clientele who pay a premium for privacy.
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noun
The paper ran the minister's resignation as a front-page exclusive.
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adjective
Membership of the golf club is exclusive and tightly controlled.
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noun
The reporter landed an exclusive with the reclusive author.
Where does exclusive come from?
Language of origin: Latin
The word traces back to the Latin verb claudere, meaning 'to shut' or 'to close', the same root that gives us 'close', 'include', and 'conclude'. From its past participle form clusus, Latin built exclusivus, which carried the sense of 'shutting out' or 'fencing off'. Medieval Latin used exclusivus to mean something that excludes others, and the word passed into English in the early 1500s, at first in technical and legal writing about what was left out or kept apart. Over time the sense broadened from merely 'shutting people out' to the modern flattering idea of something reserved for a select few, as in an exclusive club or an exclusive offer. The spelling preserves the buried Latin clus, which is why the middle of the word is 'clus' and not 'clos', a useful anchor for remembering it.
How the word is built
- ex- (out)
- clus (from claudere: to shut, close)
- -ive (forming adjectives)
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