Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Excellent
1.
Excelling; surpassing others in some good quality or the sum of qualities; of great worth; eminent, in a good sense; superior;
as, an
excellent
man, artist, citizen, husband, discourse, book, song, etc.; excellent
breeding, principles, aims, action.To love . . .
What I see
What I see
excellent
in good or fair. Milton.
2.
Superior in kind or degree, irrespective of moral quality; – used with words of a bad significance.
[Obs. or Ironical]
“An excellent hypocrite.” Hume.
Syn. – Worthy; choice; prime; valuable; select; exquisite; transcendent; admirable; worthy.
Ex′cel-lent
,adv.
Excellently; eminently; exceedingly.
[Obs.]
“This comes off well and excellent.” Shak.
Webster 1828 Edition
Excellent
EX'CELLENT
,Adj.
1.
Being of great value or use, applied to things; remarkable for good properties; as excellent timber; an excellent farm; an excellent horse; excellent fruit.2.
Distinguished for superior attainments; as an excellent artist.3.
Consummate; complete; in an ill sense.Elizabeth was an excellent hypocrite.
Definition 2025
excellent
excellent
See also: excel·lent
English
Adjective
excellent (comparative excellenter or more excellent, superlative excellentest or most excellent)
- Of the highest quality; splendid.
- 1915, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger, chapter I:
- A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire.
- 1915, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger, chapter I:
- Exceptionally good of its kind.
- 2013 July-August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist:
- Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. That’s because the lenses that are excellent at magnifying tiny subjects produce a narrow depth of field. A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that.
-
- Superior in kind or degree, irrespective of moral quality.
- David Hume (1711-1776)
- an excellent hypocrite
- Beaumont and Fletcher (1603-1625)
- Their sorrows are most excellent.
- David Hume (1711-1776)
Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:excellent
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
of the highest quality
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Adverb
excellent (comparative more excellent, superlative most excellent)
- (obsolete) Excellently.
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, New York Review Books 2001, p.287:
- Lucian, in his tract de Mercede conductis, hath excellent well deciphered such men's proceedings in his picture of Opulentia […].
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, New York Review Books 2001, p.287:
Statistics
Most common English words before 1923: doctor · Michael · fee · #997: excellent · Peter · instant · promised
Dutch
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɛnt
Adjective
excellent (comparative excellenter, superlative excellentst)
Inflection
| Inflection of excellent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| uninflected | excellent | |||
| inflected | excellente | |||
| comparative | excellenter | |||
| positive | comparative | superlative | ||
| predicative/adverbial | excellent | excellenter | het excellentst het excellentste |
|
| indefinite | m./f. sing. | excellente | excellentere | excellentste |
| n. sing. | excellent | excellenter | excellentste | |
| plural | excellente | excellentere | excellentste | |
| definite | excellente | excellentere | excellentste | |
| partitive | excellents | excellenters | — | |
French
Pronunciation
Adjective
excellent m (feminine singular excellente, masculine plural excellents, feminine plural excellentes)
- Excellent; splendid.
Verb
excellent
- third-person plural present indicative of exceller
- third-person plural present subjunctive of exceller