What does excepted mean?
"Excepted" is the participial adjective of the verb "except," meaning excluded or left out of something that otherwise applies. Its defining feature is placement: unlike most adjectives, it almost always follows the word it modifies, as in "the whole family, my brother excepted," meaning everyone but the brother. This gives the word a formal, slightly legalistic flavor, and it appears frequently in contracts, statutes, and elevated prose. Its best-known home is the fixed phrase "present company excepted," a courteous formula speakers use to exempt their listeners from an unflattering general remark. The word derives from Latin excipere, "to take out," the same root behind "exception" and "accept." A useful word for precise exclusion, "excepted" lets a writer or speaker state a rule and its single carve-out in one elegant stroke — though in everyday conversation, simpler constructions such as "apart from" have largely taken its place.
adjectiveExcluded from a statement, group, or rule that would otherwise apply; not included. It is used almost exclusively in postpositive position, directly after the noun or pronoun it qualifies.
- Used after a noun or pronoun to mean excluded from what has just been stated (e.g. "everyone, the host excepted"); it is nearly always found in this postpositive position rather than before a noun.
"The rules apply to everyone, the chairman excepted."
"The ban applies to all staff members, senior management excepted."
"With this one flaw excepted, the manuscript was ready for publication."
In "present company excepted," the word politely carves you out of an insult — English's most diplomatic way to exclude someone without naming them.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of excepted
"Excepted" comes from the verb "except," borrowed into Middle English from Old French excepter, itself from Latin excipere, meaning "to take out or withdraw." That Latin verb combines ex- ("out") with capere ("to take, seize"), the same root that gives us "capture," "receive," and "accept" — which originally shared the sense of taking something toward oneself. The participial adjective use, marking something expressly excluded, developed alongside the verb and has been a feature of formal English since roughly the early modern period.
How excepted is actually used
Formal and somewhat literary in register. The word normally follows the noun it modifies — "all guests, children excepted" — and placing it attributively ("an excepted item") is rare outside specialized legal or administrative contexts, such as British tax terminology like "excepted assets."
Easily confused with excepted
"Excepted" means excluded from something, while "accepted" means received or approved.
"Expected" means anticipated or awaited, whereas "excepted" means deliberately left out.