Exclamation mark

{{Short description|Punctuation mark (!)}} {{For-multi|"¡"|Inverted question and exclamation marks|the speech sound|alveolar click|other uses|! (disambiguation)}} {{Redirect|Pling|the Swedish lyricist nicknamed Pling|Ingela Forsman}} {{Use American English|date=August 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}} {{Infobox punctuation mark |mark=! |name=Exclamation mark |unicode='''Unicode''': {{unichar|0021}} |other_names=Exclamation point |see_also={{unichar2|¡}} }}  The '''exclamation mark''' '''{{char|!}}''' (also known as '''exclamation point''' in American English) is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection, an exclamation, a noise to indicate strong feelings (e.g. surprise, humour, anger), a loud sound (e.g. ''Bang!''), or to show emphasis. The exclamation mark often marks the end of a sentence.

A bare exclamation mark (with nothing before or after) is frequently used in warning signs.

The exclamation mark likely came from the word {{lang|la|io}}, used to show joy and surprise. Writers made a set of changes to {{lang|la|io}} that made it become the exclamation mark. In the mid-14th century the Italian writer Iacopo Alpoleio da Urbisaglia created the exclamation mark since he was bothered when readers read emotional text without emotion.

Other uses include: * In mathematics, it denotes the factorial operation and shriek maps. * Several computer languages use {{char|!}} at the beginning of an expression to denote logical negation. For example, {{code|!A}} means "the logical negation of A", also called "not A". This usage has spread to ordinary language (e.g., "!clue" means no-clue or clueless). * Some languages use ǃ, a symbol that looks like an exclamation mark, to denote a click consonant. * In chess annotation, an exclamation mark after a move means that it is good; !! means it is excellent.

== Etymology == {{See also|Exclamation mark#History}} In the 14th century, the exclamation mark was named the {{lang|la|punctus admirativus/exclamativus}}, coming from a text by the writer Iacopo Alpoleio da Urbisaglia.<ref name="Humez-2008" /><ref name="Weiskott">{{Cite journal |last=Weiskott |first=Eric |date=2012 |title=Making Beowulf Scream: Exclamation and the Punctuation of Old English Poetry |journal=The Journal of English and Germanic Philology |volume=111 |issue=1 |pages=25–41 |doi=10.5406/jenglgermphil.111.1.0025 |issn=0363-6941 |jstor=10.5406/jenglgermphil.111.1.0025 |s2cid=163108784}}</ref> About fifty years later, the writer Coluccio Salutati used the exclamation mark in his writing. This spread its use to England, where the name {{lang|la|punctus admirativus/exclamativus}} was translated to "point of admiration/exclamation".<ref name="Weiskott" /><ref name="BBC-R4" /><ref name="Hazrat-2022a">{{Cite book |last=Hazrat |first=Florence |title=An Admirable Point |date=November 3, 2022 |publisher=Profile Books |isbn=9781800811980 |location=London, United Kingdom |language=en}}</ref>{{efn|The name "point of detestation" was also used, but not translated from {{lang|la|punctus admirativus/exclamativus}}.<ref name="Cotgrave">{{cite book |last=Cotgrave |first=Randle |title=A dictionarie of the French and English tongues. |date=1611 |publisher=Printed by A. Islip |page=[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435017716812?urlappend=%3Bseq=26%3Bownerid=13510798903251341-30 26] |hdl=2027/osu.32435017716812 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435017716812 |quote=Admiratif, Th'admirative point, or point of admiration (and of detestation) marked, or made, thus !}}</ref>}} Later, people began to name it the "point/note/sign of admiration/exclamation".<ref name="Weiskott" /><ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=MacKellar |first=Thomas |title=The American Printer: A Manual of Typography, Containing Practical Directions for Managing all Departments of a Printing Office, As Well as Complete Instructions for Apprentices: With Several Useful Tables, Numerous Schemes for Imposing Forms in Every Variety, Hints to Authors, Etc. |publisher=MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan |year=1889 |edition=Seventeenth |location=Philadelphia |page=[https://archive.org/details/0423AMER/page/65/mode/1up 65]}}</ref><ref name="Murray">{{cite book |last=Murray |first=Lindley |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044097056824 |title=English grammar |date=1824 |publisher=J.B. Baldwin |location=Bridgeport, Conn. |page=[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044097056824?urlappend=%3Bseq=243%3Bownerid=27021597764263980-259 243] |hdl=2027/hvd.32044097056824}}</ref> The difference between "admiration" and "exclamation" ended in the 19th century, when people found it unneeded.<ref name="Hazrat-2022a" /> In the 17th century the name "exclamation mark" became popular.<ref name="Humez-2008" /><ref name="Partridge-1953" />{{efn|In the United States the name "exclamation point" is more popular.<ref name="Partridge-1953" />}}

==History== Linguists say that the exclamation mark comes from a Latin exclamation of joy, namely {{lang|la|io}},{{efn|Other linguists say that the exclamation mark came from a shortening of the Latin {{lang|la|interiectio}} translating to interjection.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Humez |last2=Humez |first1=Alexander |first2=Nicholas|title=A B C Et Cetera |publisher=Godine |year=1985 |isbn=9781567921007 |language=en}}</ref>}}{{efn|Latin speakers got {{lang|la|io}} from the Ancient Greek {{lang|el|iō}}.<ref name="Partridge-1953" />}} similar to "hooray".<ref name="Partridge-1953">{{cite book |last=Partridge |first=Eric |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lN-KAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |title=You Have a Point There |date=1953 |publisher=Routledge |page=82 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425171540/https://books.google.com/books?id=lN-KAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |archive-date=April 25, 2023 |url-status=live}} Reprint {{isbn|0-203-37992-6}}</ref><ref name="Humez-2008" /><ref name="Jeffries" /> Writers would write {{lang|la|io}} at the end of sentences to show happiness.<ref name="Humez-2008" /><ref name="Jeffries">{{Cite news |last=Jeffries |first=Stuart |date=April 28, 2009 |title=The joy of exclamation marks! |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/apr/29/exclamation-mark-punctuation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250713022053/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/apr/29/exclamation-mark-punctuation |archive-date=July 13, 2025 |access-date=July 28, 2025 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Over time, these writers made a set of changes to {{lang|la|io}}, such as placing the "I" above the "O", and making the "O" smaller until it turned into a dot.<ref name="Partridge-1953" /><ref name="Humez-2008" /><ref name="Jeffries" /> This set of changes turned {{lang|la|io}} to the exclamation mark.<ref name="Partridge-1953" /><ref name="Humez-2008" /><ref name="Jeffries" />{{efn|This theory is apocryphal (of questionable factuality).<ref name="Hazrat-2022a" />}}

The exclamation mark comes from the mid-14th century, when the writer Iacopo Alpoleio da Urbisaglia made it.<ref name="Weiskott" /><ref name="Humez-2008">{{Cite book |last1=Humez |last2=Humez |first1=Alexander |first2=Nicholas |title=On the Dot |date=October 2, 2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199717187}}</ref> The linguist Florence Hazrat says he "was really annoyed"<ref name="BBC-R4" /> that people read emotional text with no emotion, leading him to create the exclamation mark.<ref name="BBC-R4">{{Cite web |last=Rosen |first=Micheal |date=April 13, 2023 |title=BBC Radio 4 - Word of Mouth, Exclamation Marks!! - Exclamation Marks!! Why do we love to hate them? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3QcsHvWyxYtlkcqdM71lbV3/exclamation-marks-why-do-we-love-to-hate-them |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413222902/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3QcsHvWyxYtlkcqdM71lbV3/exclamation-marks-why-do-we-love-to-hate-them |archive-date=April 13, 2023 |access-date=April 13, 2023 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="Ore-2023">{{Cite news |last=Ore |first=Jonathan |date=April 1, 2023 |title=Why the exclamation mark is still something to get excited about! |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/sunday/word-processing-exclamation-mark-1.6795166 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205060940/https://www.cbc.ca/radio/sunday/word-processing-exclamation-mark-1.6795166 |archive-date=February 5, 2024 |access-date=July 24, 2025 |work=CBC |pages=}}</ref><ref name="Hazrat-2022">{{Cite news |last=Hazrat |first=Florence |date=November 17, 2022 |title=I'm spontaneous! I'm sincere! I'm infantile and deeply annoying! How the exclamation mark divided the world |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/nov/17/im-spontaneous-im-sincere-im-infantile-and-deeply-annoying-how-the-exclamation-mark-divided-the-world |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413221359/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/nov/17/im-spontaneous-im-sincere-im-infantile-and-deeply-annoying-how-the-exclamation-mark-divided-the-world |archive-date=April 13, 2023 |access-date=April 13, 2023 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> His early exclamation mark looked similar to the modern one, it was a period with an apostrophe above it.<ref name="BBC-R4" /><ref name="Ore-2023" /><ref name="Hazrat-2022" /> It was used to show emotions such as admiration and surprise.<ref name="BBC-R4" /> In his text, he named it the {{lang|la|punctus admirativus/exclamativus}}, although this name fell out of use.<ref name="Hazrat-2022a" /><ref name="Weiskott" />

The exclamation mark was next used by the writer Coluccio Salutati in the early 15th century, which led to its common usage.<ref name="BBC-R4" /> Shortly after, English printing press operators started to use the exclamation mark in their printing to give emphasis to sentences.<ref name="Ore-2023" /><ref name="truss">{{cite book |last=Truss |first=Lynne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ubcEuLPLzG4C&pg=PA137 |title=Eats, Shoots & Leaves: the zero tolerance approach to punctuation |publisher=Gotham Books |year=2004 |isbn=1-59240-087-6 |location=New York |page=137 |access-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018003052/https://books.google.com/books?id=ubcEuLPLzG4C&pg=PA137 |archive-date=October 18, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Older or portable typewriters often did not have the exclamation mark; to replicate it, users typed a period, backspaced, and then typed an apostrophe.<ref name="Ore-2023" /><ref name="Hazrat-2022" /><ref name="truss" />

==Slang and other names== Now obsolete, the name ''ecphoneme'' was documented in the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite book |date=1913 |author=Frank H. Vizetelly |title=The Preparation of Manuscripts for the Printer |edition=5th revised |publisher=Funk & Wagnalls |page=[https://archive.org/details/preparationofman00vizerich/page/51/mode/1up 51] |quote=The note of exclamation or ecphoneme is used after a word or phrase to express sudden emotion, and is sometimes repeated for emphasis.}}</ref>

In the 1950s, secretarial dictation and typesetting manuals in America referred to the mark as "bang",<ref name="Eveleth-2012">{{Cite web |last=Eveleth |first=Rose |author-link=Rose Eveleth |date=August 9, 2012 |title=The History of the Exclamation Point |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-history-of-the-exclamation-point-16445416/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118195849/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-history-of-the-exclamation-point-16445416/ |archive-date=November 18, 2022 |access-date=November 18, 2022 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Clyde |title=Communicating through letters and reports |year=1955 |publisher=Richard Irwin |access-date=October 19, 2011 |page=[https://archive.org/details/communicatingthr00wilk/page/651 651] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/communicatingthr00wilk}} (reprint {{isbn|0-256-02270-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hendrickson |first=Robert |title=The literary life and other curiosities |year=1982 |publisher=Penguin Books |page=358 }}</ref> perhaps from comic books – where the ! appeared in dialogue bubbles to represent a gun being fired,<ref>{{cite web |title=ASCII Pronunciation Guide |url=ftp://ftp.wg.omron.co.jp/pub/unix-faq/docs/pronunciation-guide |website=omron.co.jp |url-status=dead |access-date=October 19, 2011 |archive-date=October 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024233223/http://ascii-table.com/pronunciation-guide.php#01}}</ref> although the nickname probably emerged from letterpress printing.<ref name="Haley-2008">{{cite web |last=Haley |first=Allan |date=March 2008 |title=Punctuation |url=http://www.dynamicgraphics.com/dgm/Article/28859/index.html |url-status=dead |access-date=October 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313182231/http://dynamicgraphics.com/dgm/Article/28859/index.html |archive-date=March 13, 2012}}</ref> This "bang" usage is behind the names of the interrobang, an unconventional typographic character, and the shebang, a feature of Unix computer systems.<ref name="Eveleth-2012" />

In the printing world, the exclamation mark can be called a screamer, a gasper, a slammer, a dog's cock, or a startler.<ref name="Eveleth-2012" /><ref>{{harvp|Truss|2004|page=136}}: "Everyone knows the exclamation mark – or exclamation point, as it is known in America. It comes at the end of a sentence, is unignorable and hopelessly heavy-handed, and is known in the newspaper world as a screamer, a gasper, a startler or (sorry) a dog's cock."</ref>

Programmers originally called the exclamation mark by its full name or "shriek", but Unix popularized the "bang" name.<ref name="Jargon File" /> For example, the password communicated in the spoken phrase "Your password is em-zero-pee-aitch-bang-en-three" is <code>m0ph!n3</code>.<ref name="Jargon File">{{cite web |url=http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/B/bang.html |title=bang |work=The Jargon File |version=4.4.8 |access-date=July 9, 2018 |archive-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619091226/http://catb.org/jargon/html/B/bang.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Languages== The exclamation mark is mainly used in languages that use the Latin alphabet, although usage slightly varies. It has also been adopted in languages written in other scripts, such as languages written with Cyrillic or Arabic scripts, Chinese characters, and Devanagari.

===English=== A sentence ending in an exclamation mark may represent an exclamation (such as "Wow!"), interjection ("Boo!"), imperative ("Stop!"), or astonishment or surprise: ("They were the footprints of a gigantic hound!"). Exclamation marks are occasionally placed mid-sentence with a function similar to a comma, for dramatic effect, although this usage is obsolete: "On the walk, oh! there was a frightful noise."<ref>{{cite web |last=Poe |first=Edgar Allen |title=''The Tell-Tale Heart'' |url=http://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/thearta.htm |website=The Edgar Allen Poe Society of Baltimore |access-date=June 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123052256/https://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/thearta.htm |archive-date=November 23, 2017 |quote=''"Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! — tear up the planks! — here, here! — it is the beating of his hideous heart!"''}}</ref>

Informally, exclamation marks may be repeated for additional emphasis ("That's great!!!"), but this practice is generally considered unacceptable in formal prose.<ref>{{cite web |date=January 23, 2008 |title=Effective use of email |url=http://www.e-strategyguide.gov.au/make_email_work/effective_email |publisher=Government of Australia, Dept. of Broadband |work=E-strategy guide |access-date=July 15, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929231639/http://www.e-strategyguide.gov.au/make_email_work/effective_email |archive-date=September 29, 2009 }}</ref>

The exclamation mark is sometimes used in conjunction with the question mark. This can be in protest or astonishment ("Out of all places, the squatter-camp?!"); a few writers replace this with a single, unconventional punctuation mark, the interrobang, which is the combination of a question mark and an exclamation mark.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gleckler|first=Arthur|title=The Jargon File |url=http://speechcode.com/jargon/jargon.info.Top.html|access-date=December 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426091238/http://speechcode.com/jargon/jargon.info.Top.html|archive-date=April 26, 2012|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Overly frequent use of the exclamation mark is generally considered poor writing, as it distracts the reader and decreases the mark's significance.<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 3, 2014|title=Terminal punctuation identifies the end of a sentence, and most commonly includes periods, question marks, and exclamation points. |url=https://www.boundless.com/writing/textbooks/boundless-writing-textbook/style-structure-grammar-5/punctuation-31/choosing-correct-end-punctuation-145-9261/|access-date=April 6, 2015|website=Boundless|archive-date=April 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416013723/https://www.boundless.com/writing/textbooks/boundless-writing-textbook/style-structure-grammar-5/punctuation-31/choosing-correct-end-punctuation-145-9261/|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Linnell|first=Garry|date=February 9, 2017|title=Donald Trump has murdered the English language with exclamation marks|url=http://www.smh.com.au/comment/donald-trump-has-murdered-the-english-language-20170209-gu9h28.html|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=February 11, 2017|archive-date= February 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210162753/http://www.smh.com.au/comment/donald-trump-has-murdered-the-english-language-20170209-gu9h28.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=Cut out all these exclamation points... An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.|author=F. Scott Fitzgerald.<ref name="BBC-R4" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Graham |first1=Sheilah|last2=Frank|first2=Gerold|title=Beloved Infidel: The Education of a Woman|url=https://fitzgerald.narod.ru/bio/graham-belinfid01.html|date=1959|publisher=Bantam Books|location=New York|page=149|archive-date=March 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319000000/https://fitzgerald.narod.ru/bio/graham-belinfid01.html}} [https://archive.org/details/belovedinfideled0000grah_i9j2/mode/2up Alt URL]</ref>}}

Some authors, most notably Tom Wolfe, are known for their unashamedly liberal use of the exclamation mark. In comic books, the very frequent use of exclamation marks is common—see Comics, below.<ref name="BBC-R4" />

For information on the use of spaces after an exclamation mark, see the discussion of spacing after a period.

Several studies have shown that women use exclamation marks more than men do. One study suggests that, in addition to other uses, exclamation marks may also function as markers of friendly interaction, for example, by making "Hi!" or "Good luck!" seem friendlier than simply "Hi." or "Good luck." (with periods).<ref name="Carol">{{cite web |author=Carol Waseleski |title=Gender and the Use of Exclamation Points in Computer-Mediated Communication: An Analysis of Exclamations Posted to Two Electronic Discussion Lists |publisher=Indiana University |url=http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue4/waseleski.html |access-date=August 7, 2007 |doi=10.1111/(ISSN)1083-6101 |archive-date=September 13, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913080814/http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue4/waseleski.html |url-status=live }}</ref> However, use of exclamation marks in contexts that are not unambiguously positive can be misinterpreted as indicating hostility.<ref name="Carol" />

In English writing and often subtitles, a '''{{vanchor|(!)}}''' symbol (an exclamation mark within parentheses) implies that a character has made an obviously sarcastic comment e.g.: "Ooh, a sarcasm detector. That's a ''really useful'' invention(!)"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1210_how_to_converse/page13.shtml |title=Being sarcastic |publisher=BBC World Service |work=Learning English - How To |access-date=July 31, 2008 |archive-date=April 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423201910/http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1210_how_to_converse/page13.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> It is also used to indicate surprise at one's own experience or statement.

===French=== In French, as well as marking exclamations or indicating astonishment, the exclamation mark is commonly used to mark orders or requests: {{lang|fr|Viens ici{{nnbsp}}!}} (English: 'Come here!'). When available, a 'narrow no-break space' ({{lang|fr|espace fine insécable}}) is used between the last word and the exclamation mark in European French. If not, a regular non-breaking space ({{lang|fr|espace insécable}}) is currently used. In Canadian French, either no space is used or a small space ({{lang|fr|espace fine insécable}}) is inserted if available. One can also combine an exclamation mark with a question mark at the end of a sentence where appropriate.

===German=== German uses the exclamation mark for several things that English conveys with other punctuation:<ref>{{cite web|title=Ausrufezeichen|url=https://www.duden.de/sprachwissen/rechtschreibregeln/ausrufezeichen|website=Duden|language=de|access-date=May 20, 2020|archive-date=May 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526052121/https://www.duden.de/sprachwissen/rechtschreibregeln/ausrufezeichen|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Fragezeichen & Ausrufezeichen |url=https://www.cafe-lingua.de/deutsche-grammatik/gebrauch-frage-ausrufezeichen.php|website=Gelernt mit Bernd!|language=de|access-date=May 20, 2020|archive-date=July 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731095639/https://www.cafe-lingua.de/deutsche-grammatik/gebrauch-frage-ausrufezeichen.php|url-status=live}}</ref> * It is used at the end of imperative sentences, even when not particularly emphatic: {{lang|de|Ruf mich morgen an!}} (English: 'Call me tomorrow.') A normal period, as in English, is fairly common but is considered substandard. * A related use is on signs that express a command or interdiction: {{lang|de|Betreten verboten!}} (English: 'No trespassing!'). * The exclamation mark may also be used in the salutation line of a letter: {{lang|de|Lieber Hans!}} (English: 'Dear Hans,'), especially in Austrian German. However, the use of a comma is equally correct and is more common.

===Cantonese=== Cantonese has not historically used dedicated punctuation marks, rather relying on grammatical markers to denote the end of a statement. Usage of exclamation marks is common in written Mandarin and in some Yue speaking regions.<ref name="routledge">{{cite book|last1=Shei|first1=Chris|last2=Gao|first2=Zhao-Ming |year=2017|title=The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Translation |publisher=Routledge|pages=334–337|isbn=9781317383024 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CyE6DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT334}}</ref> The Canton and Hong Kong regions, however, generally refused to accept the exclamation mark as it was seen as carrying with it unnecessary and confusing Western connotations. However, an exclamation mark, including in some written representations of colloquy in Cantonese, can be used informally to indicate strong feelings.

===Greek=== In Modern Greek, the exclamation mark ({{lang|el|Θαυμαστικό}}, {{lang|el-Latn|thavmastikó}}) has been introduced from Latin scripts and is used identically, although without the reluctance seen in English usage.<ref>{{cite web|last=Nicolas|first=Nick |date=September 16, 2003|title="Greek Unicode Issues: Punctuation" |url=http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/punctuation.html|access-date=October 7, 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120806003722/http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/punctuation.html|archive-date=August 6, 2012}}</ref> A minor grammatical difference is that, while a series of interjections each employ an exclamation mark (e.g., {{lang|el|Ωχ! Αχ!}}, [{{lang|el-Latn|Ōch! Ach!}}, 'Oops! Oh!']), an interjection should only be separated from an extended exclamation by a comma (e.g., {{lang|el|Ωχ, ξέχασα το μάτι της κουζίνας ανοιχτό!}}, {{lang|el-Latn|Ōch, xéchasa to máti tīs kouzínas anoichtó!}}, 'Oops! I left the stove on.').

===Hungarian=== In Hungarian, an exclamation mark is put at the end of exclamatory, imperative or prohibitive sentences, and sentences expressing a wish (e.g. {{lang|hu|De szép!}} – 'How beautiful!', {{lang|hu|A fűre lépni tilos!}} – 'Keep off the grass', {{lang|hu|Bárcsak sikerülne a tervem!}} – 'If only my plan would work out.'). The use of the exclamation mark is also needed when addressing someone and the addressing is a separate sentence. (typically at the beginning of letters, e.g. {{lang|hu|Kedves Péter!}} – 'Dear Peter,').<ref>{{cite web |date=September 1, 2015 |title=A magyar helyesírás szabályai (AkH.) |url=https://helyesiras.mta.hu/helyesiras/default/akh |website=Helyesirasi Tanácsadó Portál |access-date=March 11, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=December 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203055542/https://helyesiras.mta.hu/helyesiras/default/akh |url-status=live }}</ref> Greetings are also typically terminated with an exclamation mark (e.g. {{lang|hu|Jó estét!}} – 'Good evening.').

===Solomon Islands Pidgin=== In Solomon Islands Pidgin, the phrase may be between admiration marks. Compare {{lang|pis|Nomoa.}} ("No.") and {{lang|pis|!Nomoa nao!}} ("Certainly not!").<ref>{{cite book|last=Lee|first=Ernie|title=Pidgin phrasebook|date=1999|publisher=Lonely Planet Publications |location=Hawthorn, Vic., Australia|isbn=0864425872|pages=63–64 |edition=2nd|language=en}}</ref>

===Spanish=== [[File:Billboard at Montjuïc, Barcelona (detail).jpg|thumb|Trilingual billboard in Barcelona (detail), showing the initial exclamation mark for Spanish, but not for Catalan (top line) and English]] In Spanish, a sentence or clause ending in an exclamation mark must also begin with an inverted exclamation mark (the same also applies to the question mark): {{lang|es|¿Estás loco? ¡Casi la matas!}}, 'Are you crazy? You almost killed her!'<ref name="BBC-R4" />

As in British English, a bracketed exclamation mark may be used to indicate irony or surprise at a statement: {{lang|es|Dice que esta noche no va a salir de fiesta (!)}}, 'He said that he's not going to a party tonight(!).' Such use is not matched by an inverted opening exclamation mark.<ref name="RAE">{{cite book |title=Diccionario panhispánico de dudas |date=2005 |publisher=Real Academia Española |url=https://www.rae.es/dpd/interrogaci%C3%B3n |access-date=January 14, 2023 |language=es |chapter=interrogación y exclamación (signos de) 3. a) |archive-date=December 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226084701/https://www.rae.es/dpd/interrogaci%C3%B3n |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Turkish=== In Turkish, an exclamation mark is used after a sentence or phrase for emphasis, and is common following both commands and the addressees of such commands. For example, in the {{lang|tr|Ordular! İlk hedefiniz Akdenizdir, ileri!}} ('Armies! Your first target is the Mediterranean') order by Atatürk, {{lang|tr|ordular}} ('the armies') constitute the addressee. It is further used in parentheses, {{lang|tr|(!)}}, after a sentence or phrase to indicate irony or sarcasm: {{lang|tr|Çok iyi bir iş yaptın (!)}}, 'You've done a very good job – Not!'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ünlem İşareti ( ! ) |url=https://www.turkedebiyati.org/unlem-isareti/ |access-date=April 13, 2023 |website=Turk Edebiyati |language=tr |archive-date=April 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413221401/https://www.turkedebiyati.org/unlem-isareti/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Limbu=== In Limbu, an exclamation mark ({{lang|lif|᥄}}) is used after a Limbu sentence or phrase for emphasis, and is common following both commands and the addressees of such commands. For example, in the Limbu sentence {{lang|lif|ᤐᤚᤢ᥄ ᤄᤨᤘᤑ ᤂᤥᤆᤌᤙ Mediterranean, ᤚᤦᤛᤅ᥄}} ({{lang|lif-Latn|Paṡu! Ghōwapha khōcathaśa Mediterranean, ṡausaṅa!}}, 'Armies! Your first target is the ''Mediterranean''!').

It is further used in parentheses, ({{lang|lif|᥄}}), after a sentence or phrase to indicate irony or sarcasm: {{lang|lif|ᤖᤥᤂᤌ ᤔᤚᤗ ᤐᤤ ᤊᤇ ᤃᤦᤄ (᥄)}} ({{lang|lif-Latn|Rōkhatha maṡala pai yancha gaugha (!)}}, 'You did a very good job — Not!').<ref>{{cite web |last1=Michailovsky|first1=Boyd|last2=Everson|first2=Michael|title=L2/02-055: Revised proposal to encode the Limbu script in the UCS |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02055-n2410.pdf|date=February 5, 2002|access-date=June 29, 2025}}</ref>

===Phonetics=== In Khoisan languages, and the International Phonetic Alphabet, a symbol that looks like the exclamation mark is used as a letter to indicate the postalveolar click sound (represented as ''q'' in Zulu orthography). It is a vertical bar with underdot. In Unicode, this letter is properly coded as {{unichar|01C3|latin letter retroflex click}} and distinguished from the common punctuation symbol {{unichar|0021|exclamation mark}} to allow software to deal properly with word breaks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Unicode |date=January 22, 2026 |title=The Unicode Standard, Version 17.0 Latin Extended-B |url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0180.pdf |access-date=January 22, 2026 |website=Unicode}}</ref>

The exclamation mark has sometimes been used as a phonetic symbol to indicate that a consonant is ejective. More commonly, this is represented by an apostrophe, or a superscript glottal stop symbol ({{unichar|02c0|Modifier letter glottal stop}}).

==Proper names== Although not part of dictionary words, exclamation marks appear in some brand names and trade names, including Yum! Brands (parent of fast food chains like Taco Bell and KFC), Web services Yahoo! and Joomla!, and the online game Kahoot!, although some media style guides, including those of Reuters<ref>{{cite web |title=Reuters Handbook of Journalism |date=April 2008 |access-date=April 22, 2025 |url=https://www.mediareform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Reuters_Handbook_of_Journalism.pdf |page=113 |quote=Eliminate exclamation points from company names, such as Yahoo! and Yum!.}}</ref> and ''The Economist'',<ref>{{cite news |title=Johnson: When is a rule not a rule? |url=https://www.economist.com/prospero/2013/10/01/johnson-when-is-a-rule-not-a-rule |newspaper=The Economist |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 22, 2025 |date=October 1, 2013 |quote=a category of style choices at The Economist that includes ... stripping Yahoo and Yum Brands of the exclamation points they would have us use in their names}}</ref> omit such marks from trade names. It appears in the titles of some stage and screen works, especially comedies and musicals; examples include the game show ''Jeopardy!''; the '60s musical TV show ''Shindig!''; musicals ''Oklahoma!'', ''Mamma Mia!'', ''Oliver!'', and ''Oh! Calcutta!''; and movies ''Airplane!'' and ''Moulin Rouge!''.<ref name="Grode-2016" /> In the 1970s, the exclamation mark fell out of favor for major musicals, but has remained common in ironic or parody titles.<ref name="Grode-2016">{{cite news |last=Grode |first=Eric |date=April 28, 2016 |title=Broadway Shows Get the Point! Again! |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/theater/broadway-shows-get-the-point-again.html |access-date=April 22, 2025 |work=The New York Times |page=AR9 |language=en}}</ref> In the 2016 United States presidential campaign, Republican candidate Jeb Bush used "Jeb!" as his campaign logo.<ref name="Carson Park Design">{{Cite web |title=The exclamation point — "a sign of failure" |url=https://carsonparkdesign.com/exclamation-points/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413221402/https://carsonparkdesign.com/exclamation-points/ |archive-date=April 13, 2023 |access-date=April 13, 2023 |website=Carson Park Design |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Place names=== thumb|Road sign marking the entrance to Westward Ho! The English town of Westward Ho!, named after the novel by Charles Kingsley, is the only place name in the United Kingdom that officially contains an exclamation mark.<ref name="Eveleth-2012" /><ref>{{cite web|last1=Poole|first1=Steven |last2=Frizzell|first2=Nell|date=March 7, 2016|title=Should children be told to not use exclamation marks?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/07/children-use-exclamation-marks-department-education|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=October 27, 2021|archive-date=October 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027185314/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/07/children-use-exclamation-marks-department-education|url-status=live}}</ref> There is a town in Quebec called Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, which is spelled with two exclamation marks.<ref name="Eveleth-2012" /><ref>{{cite web|date=September 20, 2017|title=Saint Louis du Ha!Ha! gets Guinness World Record nod for its exclamation marks|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/saint-louis-du-ha-ha-guiness-world-record-1.4298482|publisher=CBC.ca|access-date=October 27, 2021|archive-date=September 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917200341/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/saint-louis-du-ha-ha-guiness-world-record-1.4298482|url-status=live}}</ref> The city of Hamilton, Ohio, changed its name to Hamilton! in 1986, but neither the United States Board on Geographic Names nor mapmakers Rand McNally recognized the change.<ref name="Eveleth-2012" /><ref>{{cite news |date=August 14, 1986 |title=Hamilton! (Cont'd.) |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1986/08/15/hamilton-contd/dd31958b-0e75-4a0e-affb-a4d589686c16/?noredirect=on |access-date=September 11, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=May 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513132623/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1986/08/15/hamilton-contd/dd31958b-0e75-4a0e-affb-a4d589686c16/?noredirect=on |url-status=live }}</ref> The city of Ostrava, Czech Republic, changed its logotype to Ostrava!!! in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ostrava.cz/en/o-meste/logo-mesta-ostravy/logo-mesta-ostravy-en|title=Logo of the City of Ostrava |work=OSTRAVA!!!|access-date=March 9, 2013|archive-date=June 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623235947/http://www.ostrava.cz/en/o-meste/logo-mesta-ostravy/logo-mesta-ostravy-en|url-status=live}}</ref>

Exclamation marks are used to emphasize a precautionary statement. On warning signs, an exclamation mark is often used to draw attention to a warning of danger, hazards, and the unexpected.<ref name="BBC-R4" /> These signs are common in hazardous environments or on potentially dangerous equipment. A common type of this warning is a yellow triangle with a black exclamation mark, but a white triangle, with a red border is common on European road warning signs. In most cases, a pictogram indicating the nature of the hazard is enclosed in the triangle but an exclamation mark may be used instead as a generic symbol; a plate beneath identifies the hazard.

==Use in various fields== [[File:Zirkel der Hubertia Freiburg.jpg|thumb|''Zirkel'' of ''Corps Hubertia Freiburg'']] The ''Zirkel'' monogram of a German ''Studentenverbindung'' includes an exclamation mark if the society is still active.

===Mathematics and formal logic=== {{anchor|Mathematics|reason=Original heading title.}}

In mathematics the symbol represents the factorial operation.<ref name="Math is Fun">{{Cite web|title=Factorial Function ! |url=https://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/factorial.html|access-date=September 10, 2020|website=Math is Fun|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002131215/https://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/factorial.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Weisstein|first=Eric W.|title=Factorial|url=https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Factorial.html|access-date=September 10, 2020|website=Wolfram MathWorld|language=en |archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002092002/https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Factorial.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The expression {{math|''n''!}} means "the product of the integers from 1 to {{mvar|n}}", for example, 4! (read ''four factorial'') is 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24. Two exclamation marks ({{math|''n''!!}}) is the double factorial, which is a smaller value. In front of a number ({{math|!''n''}}) represents the subfactorial.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cajori |first=Florian |author-link=Florian Cajori |year=2011 |title=A History of Mathematical Notations: Two volumes in one |publisher=Cosimo, Inc. |isbn=9781616405717 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gxrO8ZnMK_YC&pg=RA1-PA77 77] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gxrO8ZnMK_YC&pg=RA1-PA77 }}</ref>

It is used to represent the uniqueness quantifier.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2.5 Uniqueness Arguments |url=https://www.whitman.edu/mathematics/higher_math_online/section02.05.html|website=Whitman College|access-date=December 15, 2019}}</ref>

In linear logic, the exclamation mark denotes one of the modalities that control weakening and contraction.

===Computing=== In computing, the exclamation mark is ASCII character 33 (21 in hexadecimal). Due to its availability even on early computers, the character was used for many purposes. The name given to "!" by programmers varies according to their background, though it was very common to give it a short name to make reading code aloud easier. "Bang" is very popular.<ref name="hacker" />{{rp|55}} In the UK, the term pling was popular in the earlier days of computing, whilst in the United States, the term shriek was used. It is claimed that these word usages were invented in the US and ''shriek'' is from Stanford or MIT; however, ''shriek'' for the ! sign is found in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' dating from the 1860s.

Many computer languages using C-style syntax use "!" for logical negation; {{code|!A}} means "not A", and {{code|1=A != B}} means "A is not equal to B". This negation principle has spread to ordinary language; for example, the word "!clue" is used as a synonym for "no-clue" or "clueless".<ref name="hacker">{{cite book |last1=Raymond |first1=Eric |last2=Steele |first2=Guy |year=1996 |title=The New Hacker's Dictionary |publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-68092-9 }}</ref>{{rp||page=[https://web.archive.org/web/20230408040118/https://books.google.com/books?id=g80P_4v4QbIC&pg=PA18 18]}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Munat |first=Judith |date=2007 |title=Lexical Creativity, Texts and Context |page=[https://web.archive.org/web/20230408085757/https://books.google.com/books?id=UOPXXYslemYC&pg=PA148 148]|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|isbn=978-90-272-1567-3}}</ref> The symbol in formal logic for negation is {{code|¬}} but, as this symbol is not present as standard on most keyboards, the C convention has spread informally to other contexts.

In Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), "!" is used as a delimiter in the {{code|!important}} flag, which alters the rules selecting declarations.<ref>{{cite web |title=CSS Reference / Values / !important |url=https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Values/important |website=Resources for Developers |publisher=MDN |access-date=13 December 2025}}</ref> The flag means "important", rather than "not important", which usage of "!" might suggest.

In Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), "!" appears as part of the Document type declaration as, for example, {{code|<!DOCTYPE html>}}. It also forms part of the HTML opening comment<ref>{{cite web |title=Using HTML comments |url=https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Guides/Comments |website=Resources for Developers |publisher=MDN |access-date=13 December 2025}}</ref> delimiter {{code|<!−−}}.

Early email systems also used the exclamation mark as a separator character between hostnames for routing information, usually referred to as "bang path" notation.

In the IRC protocol, a user's nickname and ident are separated by an exclamation mark in the hostmask assigned to them by the server.

In UNIX scripting (typically for UNIX shell or Perl), "!" is usually used after a "#" in the first line of a script, the interpreter directive, to tell the OS what program to use to run the script. {{code|#!}} is usually called a "hash-bang" or shebang. A similar convention for PostScript files calls for the first line to begin with {{code|%!}}, called "percent-bang".<ref>{{cite web |date=September 25, 1992 |title=PostScript Language Document Structuring Conventions (DSC) Specification Version 3.0 |url=http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/en/ps/5001.DSC_Spec.pdf |author=Adobe Developer Support |website=Developer Resources |publisher=Adobe Systems Incorporated |access-date=March 7, 2016 |page=92 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417234413/http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/en/ps/5001.DSC_Spec.pdf |archive-date=April 17, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

An exclamation mark starts history expansions in many Unix shells such as bash and tcsh where {{code|!!}} executes the previous command and {{code|!*}} refers to all the arguments from the previous command.

Acorn RISC OS uses filenames starting with pling to create an application directory: for instance, a file called <code>!Run</code> is executed when the folder containing it is double-clicked (holding down shift prevents this). There is also <code>!Boot</code> (executed the first time the application containing it comes into view of the filer), <code>!Sprites</code> (icons), <code>!Help</code>, and others.

In APL, {{code|!x}} is used for the factorial of x (backwards from math notation), and also for the binomial coefficient: {{code|k!n}} means <math>\tbinom nk</math> or {{math|{{frac|''n''!|''k''!(''n''–''k'')!}}}}.

BBC BASIC used the exclamation mark as an indirection operator, equivalent to PEEK and POKE of four bytes at once.<ref>{{cite book |title=Computers in the laboratory: a student guide to microprocessor interfacing |last1=Littler |first1=John |last2=Maher |first2=John |year=1989 |publisher=Longman |pages=53, 54 |isbn=9780582004726}}</ref>

BCPL, the precursor of C, used "!" for pointer and array indirection: {{code|!P}} is equivalent to {{code|*P}} in C, and {{code|P!3}} is equivalent to {{code|P[3]}} in C.

In the Xbase family of programming languages, which includes dBase and FoxPro, an exclamation mark, when used as part of an expression, indicates negation. For example, != means "not equal to". At the start of a line of code, it is a synonym for RUN (which executes an external program).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Xbase++ Reference Documentation |url=https://doc.alaska-software.com/ |website=Alaska Software |access-date=March 30, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Visual FoxPro Reference |url=https://hackfox.github.io/section4/ |website=Hacker’s Guide to Visual FoxPro |publisher=Hentzenwerke Publishing |access-date=March 30, 2025}}</ref>

In the Haskell programming language, "!" is used to express strictness.

In the Kotlin programming language, "!!" ("double-bang") is the not-null assertion operator, used to override null safety so as to allow a null pointer exception.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kotlinlang.org/docs/null-safety.html#the-operator |title=Null safety |website=Kotlin Foundation |access-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-date=February 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212070227/https://kotlinlang.org/docs/null-safety.html#the-operator |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the ML programming language (including Standard ML and OCaml), "!" is the operator to get the value out of a "reference" data structure.

In the Raku programming language, the "!" twigil is used to access private attributes or methods in a class (like {{code|class Person { has $!name; }|raku}} or {{code|self!private-method;|raku}}).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://docs.perl6.org/language/objects#Attributes |title=Object Orientation (Attributes) |website=Perl 6 Documentation |access-date=March 28, 2017 |archive-date=March 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329141346/https://docs.perl6.org/language/objects#Attributes |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the Scheme,<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Richard Kelsey |date=August 1998 |title=Revised<sup>5</sup> Report on the Algorithmic Language Scheme |url=http://www.schemers.org/Documents/Standards/R5RS/ |journal=Higher-Order and Symbolic Computation |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=7–105 |doi=10.1023/A:1010051815785 |access-date=August 9, 2012 |author2=William Clinger |author3=Jonathan Rees |display-authors=3 |last4=Rozas |first4=G.J. |last5=Adams Iv |first5=N.I. |last6=Friedman |first6=D.P. |last7=Kohlbecker |first7=E. |last8=Steele Jr. |first8=G.L. |last9=Bartley |first9=D.H. |s2cid=14069423 |archive-date=January 5, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070105152327/http://www.schemers.org/Documents/Standards/R5RS/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Julia,<ref>{{cite web|title=The Julia Language documentation: Base.:!—Function |url=https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/base/math/#Base.:! |access-date=July 26, 2025 |website=julialang.org |archive-date=September 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922175944/https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/base/math/#Base.:!}}</ref> and Ruby programming languages, "!" is conventionally the suffix for functions and special forms that mutate their input.

In the Swift programming language, a type followed by "!" denotes an "implicitly unwrapped optional", an option type where the compiler does not enforce safe unwrapping. The "!" operator "force unwraps" an option type, causing an error if it is nil.

In Geek Code version 3, "!" is used before a letter to denote that the geek refuses to participate in the topic at hand. In some cases, it has an alternate meaning, such as ''G!'' denoting a geek of no qualifications, ''!d'' denoting not wearing any clothes, ''P!'' denoting not being allowed to use Perl, and so on. They all share some negative connotations, however.

{{code|!}} is used to denote changed lines in {{code|diff}} output in the {{pslink|diff|context format}}. In the {{pslink|diff|unified format}}, changes to a single line are denoted as an addition and deletion.

===Video games=== The exclamation mark can be used in video games to signify that a character is startled or alarmed. In the ''Metal Gear'' and ''Paper Mario'' series, an exclamation mark appears over enemies' heads when they notice the player.

In massively multiplayer online games such as ''World of Warcraft'', an exclamation mark hovering over a character's head is often used to indicate that they are offering a quest for the player to complete.

In ''Dota 2'', an exclamation mark is shown above the head of a unit if it is killed by means not granting enemies experience or gold (if it is "denied").

In the 2005 arcade dance simulation game ''In the Groove 2'', there is a song titled "!" (also referred to as "bang") by the artist Onyx.

===Internet culture=== In Internet culture, especially where leet is used, multiple exclamation marks may be affixed with the numeral "1", as in ''!!!!!!111''. The notation originates from a common error: when typing multiple exclamation points quickly, the typist may fail to hold the {{keypress|shift}}{{keypress|1}} combination that produces the exclamation mark on many keyboard layouts. This error, first used intentionally as a joke in the leet linguistic community, is now an accepted form of exclamation in leet and derivative dialects such as Lolspeak.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gawne|first1=L.|last2=Vaughan|first2=J.|title=I can haz language play: The construction of language and identity in LOLspeak. |url=https://researchmgt.monash.edu/ws/portalfiles/portal/398504875/Gawne_VaughanICanHaz2012.pdf|journal=Proceedings of the 42nd Australian Linguistic Society Conference - 2011|year=2012|access-date=November 25, 2012|pages=97–122|hdl=1885/9398|isbn=9780980281545}}</ref> Some utterances include further substitutions, for example "!!!111oneeleven".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Blashki|first1=Katherine|last2=Nichol|first2=Sophie|title=Game Geek's Goss: Linguistic Creativity In Young Males Within An Online University Forum (94/\/\3 933k'5 9055oneone)|year=2005 |journal=Australian Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society|volume=3|issue=2|page=78|url=http://www.swinburne.edu.au/hosting/ijets/journal/V3N2/pdf/V3N2-2-Blashki.pdf|access-date=November 25, 2012|archive-date=September 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915231116/http://www.swinburne.edu.au/hosting/ijets/journal/V3N2/pdf/V3N2-2-Blashki.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=International journal of emerging technologies and society |url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/tep/85781 |access-date=April 13, 2023 |website=Trove |language=en |archive-date=April 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413221359/https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/tep/85781 |url-status=live }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In fandom and fanfiction, ! is used to signify a defining quality in a character, usually signifying an alternative interpretation of a character from a canonical work. Examples of this would be "Romantic!Draco" or "Vampire!Harry" from the ''Harry Potter'' fandom. It is also used to clarify the current persona of a character with multiple identities or appearances, such as to distinguish "Armor!Al" from "Human!Al" in a work based on ''Fullmetal Alchemist''. The origin of this usage is unknown, although it is hypothesized to have originated with certain ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' action figures; for example, "Football Player! Leonardo", "Rockstar! Raphael", and "Breakdancer! Michelangelo".<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 15, 2008 |title=! - Fanlore |url=https://fanlore.org/wiki/! |access-date=April 13, 2023 |website=Fanlore |language=en |archive-date=April 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413221400/https://fanlore.org/wiki/! |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=hosekisama |title=Minstrels of a Hyaena |url=https://hosekisama.tumblr.com/post/90998817920/hey-whats-up-with-the-in-fandoms-ie-fat |access-date=April 13, 2023 |website=Tumblr |archive-date=April 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413221400/https://hosekisama.tumblr.com/post/90998817920/hey-whats-up-with-the-in-fandoms-ie-fat |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Comics=== [[File:Action252.jpg|thumb|This ''Action Comics'' cover from 1959 ends every sentence with an exclamation point or question mark. Often, few or no periods would be used in the entire book.]] Some comic books, especially superhero comics of the mid-20th century, routinely use the exclamation point instead of the period,<ref name="BBC-R4" /> which means the character has just realized something; unlike when the question mark appears instead, which means the character is confused, surprised or they do not know what is happening. This tends to lead to exaggerated speech, in line with the other hyperboles common in comic books. A portion of the motivation, however, was simply that a period might disappear in the printing process used at the time, whereas an exclamation point would likely remain recognizable even if there was a printing glitch. For a short period, Stan Lee, as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, attempted to curb their overuse by a short-lived ban on exclamation marks altogether, which led to an inadvertent lack of ending punctuation in many sentences.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cronin|first=Brian |date=January 28, 2010 |title=Comic Book Legends Revealed #245 |url=https://www.cbr.com/comic-book-legends-revealed-245/|website=Comic Book Resources|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320033524/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/01/28/comic-book-legends-revealed-245/|archive-date=March 20, 2013|url-status=live|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref>

Comic book writer Elliot S! Maggin once accidentally signed his name with an exclamation due to the habit of using them when writing comic scripts; it became his professional name from then on.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Michael Eury|author2=Curt Swan |author3=Neal Adams|display-authors=3|date=2006|last4=Boring |first4=Wayne|last5=Garcia-Lopez|first5=Jose Luis|last6=Hughes |first6=Adam|last7=Cardy|first7=Nick|last8=Mooney|first8=Jim|last9=Byrne|first9=John|last10=Ross|first10=Ross|last11=Waid|first11=Mark|last12=Mandel|first12=David|last13=Gibbons|first13=Dave|title=The Krypton Companion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fcm4JrX-F54C&q=point&pg=PA141|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408040120/https://books.google.com/books?id=Fcm4JrX-F54C&q=point&pg=PA141|archive-date=April 8, 2023|page=141|publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing|isbn=978-1-893905-61-0|access-date=August 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Elliot S! Maggin, Super-Scribe! |url=http://superman.nu/esm/ |access-date=March 23, 2009 |url-status=dead |website=Superman Through The Ages! |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129041413/http://superman.nu/esm/ |archive-date=November 29, 2010 }}</ref> Similarly, comic artist Scott Shaw has used the exclamation point after his name throughout his career.

In comic books and comics in general, a large exclamation point is often used near or over a character's head to indicate surprise. A question mark can similarly be used to indicate confusion.

===Chess=== {{More|Punctuation (chess)}} In chess annotation, "!" denotes a good move, "!!" denotes an excellent move, "?!" denotes a dubious move, and "!?" denotes an interesting, risky move. ('Annotation' here refers to post-match commentary use). Standard chess notation used to record game moves does not use the exclamation mark. In some chess variants, such as large-board Shogi variants, "!" is used to record pieces captured by stationary feeding or burning.{{cn|date=May 2026}})

===''Scrabble''=== In ''Scrabble'', an exclamation mark written after a word is used to indicate its presence in the Official Tournament and Club Word List but its absence from the ''Official Scrabble Players Dictionary'', usually because the word has been judged offensive.

===Baseball=== Exclamation points or asterisks can be used on scorecards to denote a "great defensive play".<ref>{{cite web|last=Holz|first=Sean |title=Scoring Baseball - Advanced Symbols|url=http://baseball-almanac.com/score2b.shtml|website=Baseball Almanac|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012234604/http://www.baseball-almanac.com/score2b.shtml|archive-date=October 12, 2011|access-date=September 5, 2005}}</ref>

===Popular music=== The band !!! (pronounced "Chk Chk Chk") uses exclamation points as its name.<ref>{{cite web|last=Seabrook|first=Andrea|date=May 17, 2007 |title=The Musicians of !!!: Making Their Own 'Myths' |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10236467|website=All Things Considered|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503042123/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10236467|archive-date=May 3, 2018|agency=NPR|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref>

In 2008, the pop-punk band Panic! at the Disco dropped the exclamation point in its name; this became the "most-discussed topic on [fan] message boards around the world".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Montgomery |first1=James|last2=Elias|first2=Matt|date=January 11, 2008|title=Panic At The Disco Explain Excised Exclamation Point |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1579497/20080111/panic_at_the_disco.jhtml|website=MTV News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904054724/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1579497/20080111/panic_at_the_disco.jhtml|archive-date=September 4, 2009|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> In 2009, the exclamation mark was re-inserted following the band's split.<ref>{{cite web|author=Maura|date=July 10, 2009|title=Panic! At The Disco Post New Music, Restore Their Exclamation Point|url-status=dead |website=idolator |url=http://idolator.com/5252292/panic-at-the-disco-post-new-music-restore-their-exclamation-point |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712073602/http://idolator.com/5252292/panic-at-the-disco-post-new-music-restore-their-exclamation-point |archive-date=July 12, 2012 |access-date=July 16, 2009}}</ref>

The band Bomb the Music Industry! utilizes an exclamation mark in its name, as well as several album and song titles and promotional material. Examples include their songs "(Shut) Up The Punx!!!" and the album ''Adults!!!: Smart!!! Shithammered!!! And Excited by Nothing!!!!!!!''.

American musician Pink stylizes her stage name "P!NK",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pinkspage.com/us/pnks-biography-new |title=P!nk's Biography {{!}} The Official P!nk Site |website=Pinkspage |access-date=October 12, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713041233/http://www.pinkspage.com/us/pnks-biography-new |archive-date=July 13, 2012 }}</ref> and uses three exclamation points in the subtitle of her 2010 release, ''Greatest Hits... So Far!!!''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pinkspage.com/us/music/greatest-hits%E2%80%A6so-far-edited |title=P!nk Music: Greatest Hits... So Far!!! (Edited) {{!}} The Official P!nk Site |website=Pinkspage |access-date=October 12, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219234201/http://www.pinkspage.com/us/music/greatest-hits%E2%80%A6so-far-edited |archive-date=December 19, 2012 }}</ref>

===Television=== The exclamation mark was included in the title of Dinah Shore's TV series, ''Dinah!'' The exclamation mark was later the subject of a bitter argument between Elaine Benes and her boyfriend, Jake Jarmel, in the ''Seinfeld'' episode, "The Sniffing Accountant". Elaine got upset with Jake for not putting an exclamation mark at the end of a message about her friend having a baby. Jake took extreme exception to the trivial criticism and broke up with Elaine, putting an exclamation mark after his parting words: "I'm leaving!"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Seinfeld |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/seinfeld/episodes-season-5/1000137994/ |access-date=April 13, 2023 |website=TVGuide |language=en |archive-date=April 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413221401/https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/seinfeld/episodes-season-5/1000137994/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Unicode code-points (with HTML)== {{SpecialChars|Unicode}} * {{unichar|0021|EXCLAMATION MARK}} (HTML <code>&#33;</code>, <code>&excl;</code>{{efn|group=lower-alpha|HTML5 is the only version of HTML that has a named entity for the exclamation mark.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.w3.org/TR/html4/sgml/entities.html |title=24 Character entity references in HTML 4 |access-date=April 7, 2018 |work=w3.org |quote=The following sections present the complete lists of character entity references |archive-date=April 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401051616/http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/sgml/entities.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.w3.org/TR/2014/CR-html5-20140731/syntax.html#named-character-references |title=A vocabulary and associated APIs for HTML and XHTML |date=July 31, 2014 |access-date=April 7, 2018 |work=w3.org |quote=excl; |archive-date=August 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805013240/http://www.w3.org/TR/2014/CR-html5-20140731/syntax.html#named-character-references |url-status=live }}</ref>}})

Related forms have these code points: * {{unichar|00a1|INVERTED EXCLAMATION MARK|nlink=Inverted_question_and_exclamation_marks|html=}} * {{unichar|01c3|LATIN LETTER RETROFLEX CLICK|use=IPA|html=}} (In IPA: alveolar click) * {{unichar|203C|DOUBLE EXCLAMATION MARK|html=}} (for use in vertical text) ** {{Emoji presentation|‼}} with emoji variation selector * {{unichar|203D|Interrobang|nlink=Interrobang|html=}} * {{unichar|2E18|Inverted Interrobang|nlink=Inverted_question_and_exclamation_marks|html=}} * {{unichar|2048|QUESTION EXCLAMATION MARK|html=}} (for use in vertical text) * {{unichar|2049|EXCLAMATION QUESTION MARK|html=}} (for use in vertical text) ** {{Emoji presentation|⁉}} with emoji variation selector * {{unichar|26A0|WARNING SIGN |html=}} (exclamation mark in triangle) * {{unichar|2755|WHITE EXCLAMATION MARK ORNAMENT|html=}} (in Unicode lingo, "white" means hollow) * {{unichar|2757|HEAVY EXCLAMATION MARK SYMBOL|html=}} * {{unichar|2762|HEAVY EXCLAMATION MARK ORNAMENT|html=}} * {{unichar|2763|HEAVY HEART EXCLAMATION MARK ORNAMENT|html=}} ** {{Emoji presentation|❣}} with emoji variation selector * {{unichar|2E53|MEDIEVAL EXCLAMATION MARK|html=}} * {{unichar|A71D|MODIFIER LETTER RAISED EXCLAMATION MARK|html=}} * {{unichar|A71E|MODIFIER LETTER RAISED INVERTED EXCLAMATION MARK|html=}} * {{unichar|A71F|MODIFIER LETTER LOW INVERTED EXCLAMATION MARK|html=}} * {{unichar|fe15|Presentation form for vertical exclamation mark}} * {{unichar|FE57|SMALL EXCLAMATION MARK|html=}} (for special applications within CJK text) * {{unichar|FF01|FULLWIDTH EXCLAMATION MARK|html=}} (for special applications within CJK text) * {{unichar|E0021|TAG EXCLAMATION MARK|html=}}

Some emojis include an exclamation mark: * {{unichar|1f199|squared up with exclamation mark}} * {{unichar|1f51b|on with exclamation mark with left right arrow above}}

Some scripts have their own exclamation mark:

* {{unichar|055C|ARMENIAN EXCLAMATION MARK|nlink=Armenian alphabet}} * {{unichar|07F9|NKO EXCLAMATION MARK|nlink=N'Ko script}} * {{unichar|109F|MYANMAR SYMBOL SHAN EXCLAMATION|nlink=Burmese script|use=lang|use2=my}} * {{unichar|1944|LIMBU EXCLAMATION MARK|nlink=Limbu script}} * {{unichar|aa77|Myanmar symbol aiton exclamation|use=lang|use2=my}} * {{unichar|1e95e|Adlam initial exclamation mark|nlink=Adlam alphabet|use=lang|use2=ff}}

==See also== * {{anl|Terminal punctuation}}

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==

* {{Wiktionary inline|!}} * {{Commons category inline|Exclamation marks}}

Category:Latin-script ligatures Category:Logic symbols Category:Mathematical notation Category:Punctuation