In literature, “exceptional” is employed to signal a departure from the ordinary, whether to heighten the significance of a circumstance or to underscore unusual qualities in people and events. Authors use the term to denote rarity and uniqueness, as when it marks the extraordinary nature of individuals who stand apart from the norm ([1], [2], [3]) or the uncommon conditions under which actions occur ([4], [5]). At times, it emphasizes feats or settings that exceed the bounds of everyday experience—highlighting, for instance, brilliance in art or character traits that verge on genius ([6], [7], [8]). Conversely, “exceptional” may be used to critique or diminish, suggesting that something is atypical in a way that isolates it from accepted standards ([9], [10]). This breadth of application reflects the word’s utility in conveying both valorized and cautionary deviations from the expected ([11], [12]).