| 词组 | exceptionable, exceptional |
| 释义 | exceptionable, exceptional The foremost distinction to be made between these two words is that one is extremely rare and the other is extremely common. Exceptionable is a word most likely to occur in discussions by usage commentators who are concerned that it should not be confused with exceptional. They should put their minds at rest. Although exceptionable was in fact occasionally used with the same meaning as exceptional in the 19th century, we have no evidence of such usage in the 20th. On the rare occasions when exceptionable is now used in running text, it means "objectionable": • At its least exceptionable, ecology is a housekeeping movement —Richard Neuhaus, Harper's, October 1971 Exceptional, of course, is a common word of which the basic meaning is "forming an exception": • ... very much in keeping with the exceptional moral nature of America —Milton Viorst, Interplay, February 1969 It often describes someone or something that is significantly better than average: • His talent was too exceptional to allow for casual predictions —Norman Mailer, Advertisements for Myself, 1959 Exceptional also has a special use among teachers, sociologists, and psychologists to describe children who in some significant way differ from normal children. It refers especially to mentally retarded, physically handicapped, emotionally disturbed, or learning disabled children, although it can also refer to children who are unusually intelligent or otherwise gifted: • He must think more particularly of the exceptional child who is deficient (not so much of the one who is gifted) — The Exceptional Child, 20 Mar. 1951 • ... has embraced the cause of the exceptional child. It requires that every school system must provide for special education of retarded children —Sarah Bas-sinor, Massachusetts Teacher, March 1965 This use of exceptional is well-established: our first record of it is from 1911. It has been criticized as a euphemism for retarded or feeble-minded by a few writers who apparently pride themselves on their refusal to spare anyone's feelings. Harper 1985, on the other hand, regards it with approval. See also unexceptionable, unexceptional. |
| 随便看 |
|
英语用法大全包含2888条英语用法指南，基本涵盖了全部常用英文词汇及语法点的翻译及用法，是英语学习的有利工具。