excel vs exceed

excel and exceed both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
excel	No	No	Yes	No
exceed	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, exceed is a hyponym of excel; that is, exceed is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than excel:

Other hyponyms of excel include go past, overstep, pass, top, transcend, outrank, rank, excel at, shine at.

excel (verb)	exceed (verb)
distinguish oneself	be or do something to a greater degree
	be superior or better than some standard
	be greater in scope or size than some standard