Excellent

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ˈɛksÉ™lÉ™nt/, /ˈɛksɪlnt/

Origin

From Old French excellent, from Latin excellēns ("elevated, exalted"), present participle of excellō ("elevate, exult")

Full definition of excellent

Adjective

1. Of the highest quality; splendid.
2. Exceptionally good of its kind.
• 2013, Catherine Clabby, Focus on Everything, 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.
3. Superior in kind or degree, irrespective of moral quality.
• Humean excellent hypocrite
• Beaumont and FletcherTheir sorrows are most excellent.

Synonyms

Derived terms

• excellence
• excellently
• excellentness

Adverb

1. (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 ....