# excluded

/ɪkˈskɫudəd/ (US) · /ɛksklˈuːdɪd/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/excluded
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. to leave out

verb · CEFR B2

to keep someone or something out of a place, group, or activity.

For teachers: to bar from entry or participation; to deliberately omit something from a set or category.

- The club excluded anyone who was not a local resident.
- The researchers excluded several participants from the final study because they did not meet the strict health criteria required for the trial.

Usage: Often used in the passive voice followed by the preposition 'from'.

### 2. to rule out

verb · CEFR B2

to decide that something is not possible.

For teachers: to eliminate a possibility or potential cause from consideration.

- The police excluded the possibility of an accident after seeing the evidence.
- After conducting a series of diagnostic tests, the medical team excluded the most common viral infections as the cause of the patient's symptoms.

### 3. feeling left out

adjective · CEFR B2

feeling unhappy because you are not part of a group or activity.

For teachers: describing a state of being socially ostracized or intentionally left out of a collective.

- He felt excluded when his colleagues went to lunch without asking him.
- The new student felt increasingly excluded as the existing social circles in the classroom proved difficult to penetrate during the first semester.

## Examples

- The club excluded him because he did not pay the membership fee.
- The researchers excluded participants who were already taking similar medication to ensure the study results remained accurate.
- While the initial proposal seemed inclusive, the fine print effectively excluded small businesses from applying for the government grant by setting the minimum revenue threshold too high.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.