Exemplary people excel at what they do and are excellent examples to others. Something exemplary is so good that it is an example for others to follow.

When something is the best it can be or reaches the highest point, it is exemplary and thus worth imitating. Exemplary comes from the Latin exemplum, meaning "sample" or "example." While some people and things are held as examples of what not to do, an exemplary person or thing is always a positive example. A country can have an exemplary record of preventing pollution, and a person may have an exemplary reputation just for being all-around praiseworthy or noble.

Definitions of exemplary

adj worthy of imitation

exemplary behavior”
having worth or merit or value; being honorable or admirable

adj being or serving as an illustration of a type

“an action exemplary of his conduct”
emblematic, typic

adj serving to warn

“an exemplary jail sentence”
admonitory, cautionary, monitory, warning
deterring from action

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