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

incomparably, immeasurably, extraordinarily, remarkably;
excessively, greatly, hugely, enormously: She plays the violin
exceedingly well. Even for a dog, that is an exceedingly ugly
dog.
excel v. surpass, be superior (to), dominate, top, exceed, go beyond,
beat, outstrip, outrank, outdo, outpace, outshine, overshadow,
eclipse; shine, be pre-eminent: Few places excel the Caribbean
islands for beauty. He really excels when it comes to swimming.
excellence
n. superiority, merit, (high) quality, goodness, fineness,
greatness, prominence, eminence, pre-eminence, distinction,
value, worth, supremacy: Those who attain excellence often
devote their lives to one pursuit.
excellent adj. superb, outstanding, exceptional, superior, matchless,
peerless, unequalled, without equal, nonpareil, supreme,
superlative, sterling, capital, first-class, first-rate, prime,
choice, select, distinguished, noteworthy, notable, worthy, the
best, tiptop, admirable, splendid, remarkable, marvellous,
extraordinary, Colloq A-1 or A-one, great, smashing, super,
terrific, fantastic, Brit magic, Dialectal champion,
Old-fashioned top-hole, ripping, tickety-boo, US A number 1,
major, Australian bonzer, Slang cool, ripsnorting: Thank you
for an excellent dinner. He is an excellent pianist.
except prep. 1 Sometimes except for. excepting, save, but, excluding,
exclusive of, barring, bar, with the exception of, omitting, not
counting, apart from, but for, other than, saving: There was no
one there except us. Except for us, no one came.
--conj. 2 except that. except or but (for the fact) that, but,
save that: He would have gone except that he has no car.
--v. 3 exclude, omit, leave out, excuse: As usual, the wealthy
were excepted from the tax increase.
exception n. 1 exclusion, omission: With the exception of those who are
absent, all members are entitled to a free T-shirt. 2 debarment,
blockage, lockout, shut-out: His wife was deeply offended by
his exception from membership of the country club. 3 departure,
anomaly, irregularity, special case; oddity, freak, rarity,