EXEMPTION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does exemption mean? 

• EXEMPTION (noun)
  The noun EXEMPTION has 3 senses:

1. immunity from an obligation or duty

2. a deduction allowed to a taxpayer because of his status (having certain dependents or being blind or being over 65 etc.)

3. an act exempting someone

  Familiarity information: EXEMPTION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EXEMPTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Immunity from an obligation or duty

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

exemption; freedom

Hypernyms ("exemption" is a kind of...):

immunity; unsusceptibility (the state of not being susceptible)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "exemption"):

amnesty (a period during which offenders are exempt from punishment)

diplomatic immunity (exemption from taxation or normal processes of law that is offered to diplomatic personnel in a foreign country)

indemnity (legal exemption from liability for damages)

impunity (exemption from punishment or loss)

grandfather clause (an exemption based on circumstances existing prior to the adoption of some policy; used to enfranchise illiterate whites in south after the American Civil War)

Derivation:

exempt (grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A deduction allowed to a taxpayer because of his status (having certain dependents or being blind or being over 65 etc.)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Context example:

additional exemptions are allowed for each dependent

Hypernyms ("exemption" is a kind of...):

deduction; tax deduction; tax write-off (a reduction in the gross amount on which a tax is calculated; reduces taxes by the percentage fixed for the taxpayer's income bracket)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An act exempting someone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

exemption; granting immunity; immunity

Context example:

he was granted immunity from prosecution

Hypernyms ("exemption" is a kind of...):

discharge; release; waiver (a formal written statement of relinquishment)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "exemption"):

fix (an exemption granted after influence (e.g., money) is brought to bear)

official immunity (personal immunity accorded to a public official from liability to anyone injured by actions that are the consequence of exerting official authority)

sovereign immunity (an exemption that precludes bringing a suit against the sovereign government without the government's consent)

testimonial immunity; use immunity (an exemption that displaces the privilege against self-incrimination; neither compelled testimony or any fruits of it can be used against the witness who therefore can no longer fear self-incrimination)

 Context examples 

Her own father's perfect exemption from any thought of the kind, the entire deficiency in him of all such sort of penetration or suspicion, was a most comfortable circumstance.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Stability data submitted to an investigational device exemption.

(Investigational Device Exemption, Food and Drug Administration)

An approved exemption to the requirement for a participant to meet eligibility criteria prior to study enrollment.

(Eligibility Waiver, NCI Thesaurus)

An exemption based on circumstances existing prior to the adoption of some policy.

(Grandfather Clause, NCI Thesaurus)

She had had three weeks of happy exemption from Mr. Elton; and Harriet's mind, she had been willing to hope, had been lately gaining strength.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)