The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - exceptionaladj.

1) special, unusual, especial, out of the ordinary, extraordinary, uncommon, rare, singular; strange, irregular, aberrant, odd, peculiar, anomalous: The candlesticks turned out to be of exceptional value. He insisted that rainstorms in the Sahara were not exceptional. 2) gifted, talented, superior, outstanding, above average, excellent, prodigious, extraordinary: Your child is exceptional, Mrs Einstein. 3) handicapped, below average, deficient, Brit ESN (='educationally subnormal') : The boy attends a school for exceptional children.