Accept and Except are the two words that have completely different meaning in the English language but still they cause a lot of confusion among people.
Key Takeaways
- “Accept” is a verb meaning to receive or agree to something, while “except” is a preposition or conjunction used to exclude something from a general statement.
- Using “accept” in a sentence implies consent or approval while using “except” highlights an exception or exclusion.
- Confusing these words can lead to misunderstandings, as they convey contrasting meanings and serve different grammatical functions.
Accept vs Except
The difference between Accept and Except is that “Accept” means to agree or approve of something while except means to exclude something from a sentence. Accept stands as a verb in part of speech whereas except stands as a preposition or conjunction in the part of speech.
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Examples: 1) Accept – I ‘accept’ your proposal. 2) Except – I can invite everyone, ‘except’ Jason.
Although they have two entirely different meanings, “accept” and “except” are sometimes misunderstood for one another. To help make it easy, remember these sentences
- “The company accepts applications from everyone, except convicted felons.”
- “All of her friends were accepted into the same school, except the one who did not apply.”
Accept /əkˈsept/ – This word is often used to show that an idea (or perhaps a person) is acknowledged and agreed to.
Synonyms for the word “accept” may include consent, allow in, receive, obtain, admit, permit, approve, agree to, agree with, acquire, take in, get or tolerate.
Except /ikˈsept/ – This word is often used to show that someone or something has been left out of a certain group.
Synonyms for the word “except” may include excluding, leave out, other than, not including, apart from, aside from, besides, count out, but not, all but, but, save or omitting.
Comparison Table
| Parameter of Comparison | Accept | Except |
|---|---|---|
| Phonetics / Pronunciation | əkˈsɛpt | ɪkˈsɛpt |
| Part of speech / Grammar | Verb | Preposition / Conjunction |
| Usage | Shows approval | Points to what is left out |
| Definition | Receive | Not including |
| Example | She accepted the award. | I like all fruit, except papayas. |
| Definition 2 | Allow | Other than |
| Example 2 | He was accepted into Harvard. | She could do nothing except cry. |
What is Accept?
As a verb, “accept” means to allow or receive. It originally stemmed from the Latin prefix “ad-” (to) with the term “capere” (take).
This formed the Latin word “accipere” (take something to oneself). Through time, this became the late Middle English word we know as “accept”.
What is Except?
Used as a preposition or conjunction, “except” means to not include. It originally stemmed from the Latin prefix “ex-” (out of) with the term “capere” (take).
This formed the Latin word “excipere” (taken out). Through time, this became the late Middle English word we know as “except”.
Main Differences Between Accept and Except
Like many word-duos in English, the two words “accept” and “except” can easily be mixed up, and often are, due to their similar pronunciations. However:
- These two words are spelled differently.
- They are pronounced similarly, but slightly differently.
- While they have the same ending of -cept, the beginnings of the words are different.
- “Accept” means to agree or take in, “except” means to leave out.
- Consider this mental image: “Accept” is to welcome someone into your home, while “except” is to welcome everyone BUT that person.
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accept
- https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/accept
- https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/except
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
