exclusive

Etymology

From Latin exclūsīvus, from excludere (“to shut out, exclude”), from ex- (“out”) + variant form of verb claudere (“to close, shut”).

adj

1. (literally) Excluding items or members that do not meet certain conditions.
2. (figurative) Referring to a membership organisation, service or product: of high quality and/or renown, for superior members only. A snobbish usage, suggesting that members who do not meet requirements, which may be financial, of celebrity, religion, skin colour etc., are excluded.
   Exclusive clubs tend to serve exclusive brands of food and drinks, in the same exorbitant price range, such as the 'finest' French châteaux.
3. Exclusionary.
4. Whole, undivided, entire.
   The teacher's pet commands the teacher's exclusive attention.
5. (linguistics) Of or relating to the first-person plural pronoun when excluding the person being addressed.
   The pronoun in "We're going to a party later, but you aren't invited" is an exclusive "we".
6. (of two people in a romantic or sexual relationship) Having a romantic or sexual relationship with one another, to the exclusion of others.
   They decided to no longer be exclusive.

noun

1. Information (or an artefact) that is granted or obtained exclusively.
   The editor agreed to keep a lid on a potentially disastrous political scoop in exchange for an exclusive of a happier nature.
2. A member of a group who exclude others from their society.
3. (grammar) A word or phrase that restricts something, such as only, solely, or simply.