Difference between Accept and Except | Except vs. Accept

Accept and except are homophones and can confuse a reader because of sound similarity, but both words are very different in their meanings.

Meanings of Accept and Except:

Accept: Receive willingly

Except: Exclude

 Synonyms of Accept and Except

Accept: approve, have, take, allow, get

Except: apart from, but, other than, outside, aside from

 Pronunciation of Accept and Except

Accept: /ek-ˈsept/

Except: /ik-ˈsept/

Explanation and Use of Word; Accept

The word accept is a verb and its core meaning is “to receive (or take) something intentionally and willingly”. A person may receive a practically thing like a gift, money, or he may receive a responsibility like duty, an obligation, a risk, or an opportunity of a job, or he may agree to the idea of another person like a decision, a theory, a suggestion or a proposal.  

Look at the given examples to comprehend the meaning of accept.

• I love Jenny and I am sure that she will accept my marriage proposal.
• Many economists have accepted that democracy is better than capitalism.
• The traffic warden denied accepting a bribe and fined the driver for the wrong parking.

The word accept has a wide range of its meanings. If a person asks his friend to join him on a long drive. His friend has two options: accept or deny, and most possibly, he will accept his proposal.

Explanation and Use of Word; Except

The word except is used as a verb, preposition and conjunction in a sentence. Generally, we use the word ‘except’ as a preposition in a sentence. We use it when we have multiple things and want to exclude one or more from the main list of things. As In the example below:

·         We have mixed all ingredients in the cake except sugar.

We use it also as a conjunction in a sentence. Look at the example below:

·         No one is not allowed to leave party except in an emergency.

The Bottom Line

In a nutshell, the word accept and except are different in their meanings. The word accept is widely used in daily conversations but the use of word except is rare.