diff --git a/spacy/__init__.py b/spacy/__init__.py
index ed53787f2..8e9c8db69 100644
--- a/spacy/__init__.py
+++ b/spacy/__init__.py
@@ -28,17 +28,22 @@ if sys.maxunicode == 65535:
 def load(
     name: Union[str, Path],
     disable: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
+    exclude: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
     config: Union[Dict[str, Any], Config] = util.SimpleFrozenDict(),
 ) -> Language:
     """Load a spaCy model from an installed package or a local path.
 
     name (str): Package name or model path.
-    disable (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to disable.
+    disable (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to disable. Disabled
+        pipes will be loaded but they won't be run unless you explicitly
+        enable them by calling nlp.enable_pipe.
+    exclude (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to exclude. Excluded
+        components won't be loaded.
     config (Dict[str, Any] / Config): Config overrides as nested dict or dict
         keyed by section values in dot notation.
     RETURNS (Language): The loaded nlp object.
     """
-    return util.load_model(name, disable=disable, config=config)
+    return util.load_model(name, disable=disable, exclude=exclude, config=config)
 
 
 def blank(name: str, **overrides) -> Language:
diff --git a/spacy/default_config.cfg b/spacy/default_config.cfg
index 7db23ec1c..d76ef630d 100644
--- a/spacy/default_config.cfg
+++ b/spacy/default_config.cfg
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ use_pytorch_for_gpu_memory = false
 [nlp]
 lang = null
 pipeline = []
+disabled = []
 load_vocab_data = true
 before_creation = null
 after_creation = null
diff --git a/spacy/language.py b/spacy/language.py
index bac90af85..45f6eb493 100644
--- a/spacy/language.py
+++ b/spacy/language.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import itertools
 import weakref
 import functools
 from contextlib import contextmanager
-from copy import copy, deepcopy
+from copy import deepcopy
 from pathlib import Path
 import warnings
 from thinc.api import get_current_ops, Config, require_gpu, Optimizer
@@ -159,7 +159,8 @@ class Language:
         self.vocab: Vocab = vocab
         if self.lang is None:
             self.lang = self.vocab.lang
-        self.pipeline = []
+        self._pipeline = []
+        self._disabled = set()
         self.max_length = max_length
         self.resolved = {}
         # Create the default tokenizer from the default config
@@ -210,6 +211,7 @@ class Language:
         # TODO: Adding this back to prevent breaking people's code etc., but
         # we should consider removing it
         self._meta["pipeline"] = self.pipe_names
+        self._meta["disabled"] = list(self._disabled)
         return self._meta
 
     @meta.setter
@@ -232,13 +234,14 @@ class Language:
         # we can populate the config again later
         pipeline = {}
         score_weights = []
-        for pipe_name in self.pipe_names:
+        for pipe_name in self._pipe_names:
             pipe_meta = self.get_pipe_meta(pipe_name)
             pipe_config = self.get_pipe_config(pipe_name)
             pipeline[pipe_name] = {"factory": pipe_meta.factory, **pipe_config}
             if pipe_meta.default_score_weights:
                 score_weights.append(pipe_meta.default_score_weights)
-        self._config["nlp"]["pipeline"] = self.pipe_names
+        self._config["nlp"]["pipeline"] = self._pipe_names
+        self._config["nlp"]["disabled"] = list(self._disabled)
         self._config["components"] = pipeline
         self._config["training"]["score_weights"] = combine_score_weights(score_weights)
         if not srsly.is_json_serializable(self._config):
@@ -257,9 +260,30 @@ class Language:
         """
         return list(self.factories.keys())
 
+    @property
+    def _pipe_names(self) -> List[str]:
+        """Get the names of the available pipeline components. Includes all
+        active and inactive pipeline components.
+
+        RETURNS (List[str]): List of component name strings, in order.
+        """
+        # TODO: Should we make this available via  a user-facing property? (The
+        # underscore distinction works well internally)
+        return [pipe_name for pipe_name, _ in self._pipeline]
+
+    @property
+    def pipeline(self) -> List[Tuple[str, Callable[[Doc], Doc]]]:
+        """The processing pipeline consisting of (name, component) tuples. The
+        components are called on the Doc in order as it passes through the
+        pipeline.
+
+        RETURNS (List[Tuple[str, Callable[[Doc], Doc]]]): The pipeline.
+        """
+        return [(name, p) for name, p in self._pipeline if name not in self._disabled]
+
     @property
     def pipe_names(self) -> List[str]:
-        """Get names of available pipeline components.
+        """Get names of available active pipeline components.
 
         RETURNS (List[str]): List of component name strings, in order.
         """
@@ -272,7 +296,7 @@ class Language:
         RETURNS (Dict[str, str]): Factory names, keyed by component names.
         """
         factories = {}
-        for pipe_name, pipe in self.pipeline:
+        for pipe_name, pipe in self._pipeline:
             factories[pipe_name] = self.get_pipe_meta(pipe_name).factory
         return factories
 
@@ -284,7 +308,7 @@ class Language:
         RETURNS (Dict[str, List[str]]): Labels keyed by component name.
         """
         labels = {}
-        for name, pipe in self.pipeline:
+        for name, pipe in self._pipeline:
             if hasattr(pipe, "labels"):
                 labels[name] = list(pipe.labels)
         return labels
@@ -512,10 +536,10 @@ class Language:
 
         DOCS: https://spacy.io/api/language#get_pipe
         """
-        for pipe_name, component in self.pipeline:
+        for pipe_name, component in self._pipeline:
             if pipe_name == name:
                 return component
-        raise KeyError(Errors.E001.format(name=name, opts=self.pipe_names))
+        raise KeyError(Errors.E001.format(name=name, opts=self._pipe_names))
 
     def create_pipe(
         self,
@@ -660,8 +684,8 @@ class Language:
             err = Errors.E966.format(component=bad_val, name=name)
             raise ValueError(err)
         name = name if name is not None else factory_name
-        if name in self.pipe_names:
-            raise ValueError(Errors.E007.format(name=name, opts=self.pipe_names))
+        if name in self._pipe_names:
+            raise ValueError(Errors.E007.format(name=name, opts=self._pipe_names))
         if source is not None:
             # We're loading the component from a model. After loading the
             # component, we know its real factory name
@@ -686,7 +710,7 @@ class Language:
             )
         pipe_index = self._get_pipe_index(before, after, first, last)
         self._pipe_meta[name] = self.get_factory_meta(factory_name)
-        self.pipeline.insert(pipe_index, (name, pipe_component))
+        self._pipeline.insert(pipe_index, (name, pipe_component))
         return pipe_component
 
     def _get_pipe_index(
@@ -707,32 +731,34 @@ class Language:
         """
         all_args = {"before": before, "after": after, "first": first, "last": last}
         if sum(arg is not None for arg in [before, after, first, last]) >= 2:
-            raise ValueError(Errors.E006.format(args=all_args, opts=self.pipe_names))
+            raise ValueError(Errors.E006.format(args=all_args, opts=self._pipe_names))
         if last or not any(value is not None for value in [first, before, after]):
-            return len(self.pipeline)
+            return len(self._pipeline)
         elif first:
             return 0
         elif isinstance(before, str):
-            if before not in self.pipe_names:
-                raise ValueError(Errors.E001.format(name=before, opts=self.pipe_names))
-            return self.pipe_names.index(before)
+            if before not in self._pipe_names:
+                raise ValueError(Errors.E001.format(name=before, opts=self._pipe_names))
+            return self._pipe_names.index(before)
         elif isinstance(after, str):
-            if after not in self.pipe_names:
-                raise ValueError(Errors.E001.format(name=after, opts=self.pipe_names))
-            return self.pipe_names.index(after) + 1
+            if after not in self._pipe_names:
+                raise ValueError(Errors.E001.format(name=after, opts=self._pipe_names))
+            return self._pipe_names.index(after) + 1
         # We're only accepting indices referring to components that exist
         # (can't just do isinstance here because bools are instance of int, too)
         elif type(before) == int:
-            if before >= len(self.pipeline) or before < 0:
-                err = Errors.E959.format(dir="before", idx=before, opts=self.pipe_names)
+            if before >= len(self._pipeline) or before < 0:
+                err = Errors.E959.format(
+                    dir="before", idx=before, opts=self._pipe_names
+                )
                 raise ValueError(err)
             return before
         elif type(after) == int:
-            if after >= len(self.pipeline) or after < 0:
-                err = Errors.E959.format(dir="after", idx=after, opts=self.pipe_names)
+            if after >= len(self._pipeline) or after < 0:
+                err = Errors.E959.format(dir="after", idx=after, opts=self._pipe_names)
                 raise ValueError(err)
             return after + 1
-        raise ValueError(Errors.E006.format(args=all_args, opts=self.pipe_names))
+        raise ValueError(Errors.E006.format(args=all_args, opts=self._pipe_names))
 
     def has_pipe(self, name: str) -> bool:
         """Check if a component name is present in the pipeline. Equivalent to
@@ -773,7 +799,7 @@ class Language:
         # to Language.pipeline to make sure the configs are handled correctly
         pipe_index = self.pipe_names.index(name)
         self.remove_pipe(name)
-        if not len(self.pipeline) or pipe_index == len(self.pipeline):
+        if not len(self._pipeline) or pipe_index == len(self._pipeline):
             # we have no components to insert before/after, or we're replacing the last component
             self.add_pipe(factory_name, name=name, config=config, validate=validate)
         else:
@@ -793,12 +819,12 @@ class Language:
 
         DOCS: https://spacy.io/api/language#rename_pipe
         """
-        if old_name not in self.pipe_names:
-            raise ValueError(Errors.E001.format(name=old_name, opts=self.pipe_names))
-        if new_name in self.pipe_names:
-            raise ValueError(Errors.E007.format(name=new_name, opts=self.pipe_names))
-        i = self.pipe_names.index(old_name)
-        self.pipeline[i] = (new_name, self.pipeline[i][1])
+        if old_name not in self._pipe_names:
+            raise ValueError(Errors.E001.format(name=old_name, opts=self._pipe_names))
+        if new_name in self._pipe_names:
+            raise ValueError(Errors.E007.format(name=new_name, opts=self._pipe_names))
+        i = self._pipe_names.index(old_name)
+        self._pipeline[i] = (new_name, self._pipeline[i][1])
         self._pipe_meta[new_name] = self._pipe_meta.pop(old_name)
         self._pipe_configs[new_name] = self._pipe_configs.pop(old_name)
 
@@ -810,15 +836,41 @@ class Language:
 
         DOCS: https://spacy.io/api/language#remove_pipe
         """
-        if name not in self.pipe_names:
-            raise ValueError(Errors.E001.format(name=name, opts=self.pipe_names))
-        removed = self.pipeline.pop(self.pipe_names.index(name))
+        if name not in self._pipe_names:
+            raise ValueError(Errors.E001.format(name=name, opts=self._pipe_names))
+        removed = self._pipeline.pop(self._pipe_names.index(name))
         # We're only removing the component itself from the metas/configs here
         # because factory may be used for something else
         self._pipe_meta.pop(name)
         self._pipe_configs.pop(name)
+        # Make sure the name is also removed from the set of disabled components
+        if name in self._disabled:
+            self._disabled.remove(name)
         return removed
 
+    def disable_pipe(self, name: str) -> None:
+        """Disable a pipeline component. The component will still exist on
+        the nlp object, but it won't be run as part of the pipeline.
+
+        name (str): The name of the component to disable.
+        """
+        if name not in self._pipe_names:
+            raise ValueError(Errors.E001.format(name=name, opts=self._pipe_names))
+        # TODO: should we raise if pipe is already disabled?
+        self._disabled.add(name)
+
+    def enable_pipe(self, name: str) -> None:
+        """Enable a previously disabled pipeline component so it's run as part
+        of the pipeline.
+
+        name (str): The name of the component to enable.
+        """
+        if name not in self._pipe_names:
+            raise ValueError(Errors.E001.format(name=name, opts=self._pipe_names))
+        # TODO: should we raise if pipe is already enabled?
+        if name in self._disabled:
+            self._disabled.remove(name)
+
     def __call__(
         self,
         text: str,
@@ -1366,6 +1418,7 @@ class Language:
         *,
         vocab: Union[Vocab, bool] = True,
         disable: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
+        exclude: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
         auto_fill: bool = True,
         validate: bool = True,
     ) -> "Language":
@@ -1375,7 +1428,11 @@ class Language:
 
         config (Dict[str, Any] / Config): The loaded config.
         vocab (Vocab): A Vocab object. If True, a vocab is created.
-        disable (Iterable[str]): List of pipeline component names to disable.
+        disable (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to disable.
+            Disabled pipes will be loaded but they won't be run unless you
+            explicitly enable them by calling nlp.enable_pipe.
+        exclude (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to exclude.
+            Excluded components won't be loaded.
         auto_fill (bool): Automatically fill in missing values in config based
             on defaults and function argument annotations.
         validate (bool): Validate the component config and arguments against
@@ -1448,7 +1505,7 @@ class Language:
                 raise ValueError(Errors.E956.format(name=pipe_name, opts=opts))
             pipe_cfg = util.copy_config(pipeline[pipe_name])
             raw_config = Config(filled["components"][pipe_name])
-            if pipe_name not in disable:
+            if pipe_name not in exclude:
                 if "factory" not in pipe_cfg and "source" not in pipe_cfg:
                     err = Errors.E984.format(name=pipe_name, config=pipe_cfg)
                     raise ValueError(err)
@@ -1473,6 +1530,8 @@ class Language:
                         )
                     source_name = pipe_cfg.get("component", pipe_name)
                     nlp.add_pipe(source_name, source=source_nlps[model], name=pipe_name)
+        disabled_pipes = [*config["nlp"]["disabled"], *disable]
+        nlp._disabled = set(p for p in disabled_pipes if p not in exclude)
         nlp.config = filled if auto_fill else config
         nlp.resolved = resolved
         if after_pipeline_creation is not None:
@@ -1502,9 +1561,10 @@ class Language:
         )
         serializers["meta.json"] = lambda p: srsly.write_json(p, self.meta)
         serializers["config.cfg"] = lambda p: self.config.to_disk(p)
-        for name, proc in self.pipeline:
-            if not hasattr(proc, "name"):
-                continue
+        for name, proc in self._pipeline:
+            # TODO: why did we add this?
+            # if not hasattr(proc, "name"):
+            #     continue
             if name in exclude:
                 continue
             if not hasattr(proc, "to_disk"):
@@ -1548,7 +1608,7 @@ class Language:
         deserializers["tokenizer"] = lambda p: self.tokenizer.from_disk(
             p, exclude=["vocab"]
         )
-        for name, proc in self.pipeline:
+        for name, proc in self._pipeline:
             if name in exclude:
                 continue
             if not hasattr(proc, "from_disk"):
@@ -1577,7 +1637,7 @@ class Language:
         serializers["tokenizer"] = lambda: self.tokenizer.to_bytes(exclude=["vocab"])
         serializers["meta.json"] = lambda: srsly.json_dumps(self.meta)
         serializers["config.cfg"] = lambda: self.config.to_bytes()
-        for name, proc in self.pipeline:
+        for name, proc in self._pipeline:
             if name in exclude:
                 continue
             if not hasattr(proc, "to_bytes"):
@@ -1611,7 +1671,7 @@ class Language:
         deserializers["tokenizer"] = lambda b: self.tokenizer.from_bytes(
             b, exclude=["vocab"]
         )
-        for name, proc in self.pipeline:
+        for name, proc in self._pipeline:
             if name in exclude:
                 continue
             if not hasattr(proc, "from_bytes"):
@@ -1647,14 +1707,10 @@ class DisabledPipes(list):
     def __init__(self, nlp: Language, names: List[str]) -> None:
         self.nlp = nlp
         self.names = names
-        # Important! Not deep copy -- we just want the container (but we also
-        # want to support people providing arbitrarily typed nlp.pipeline
-        # objects.)
-        self.original_pipeline = copy(nlp.pipeline)
-        self.metas = {name: nlp.get_pipe_meta(name) for name in names}
-        self.configs = {name: nlp.get_pipe_config(name) for name in names}
+        for name in self.names:
+            self.nlp.disable_pipe(name)
         list.__init__(self)
-        self.extend(nlp.remove_pipe(name) for name in names)
+        self.extend(self.names)
 
     def __enter__(self):
         return self
@@ -1664,14 +1720,10 @@ class DisabledPipes(list):
 
     def restore(self) -> None:
         """Restore the pipeline to its state when DisabledPipes was created."""
-        current, self.nlp.pipeline = self.nlp.pipeline, self.original_pipeline
-        unexpected = [name for name, pipe in current if not self.nlp.has_pipe(name)]
-        if unexpected:
-            # Don't change the pipeline if we're raising an error.
-            self.nlp.pipeline = current
-            raise ValueError(Errors.E008.format(names=unexpected))
-        self.nlp._pipe_meta.update(self.metas)
-        self.nlp._pipe_configs.update(self.configs)
+        for name in self.names:
+            self.nlp.enable_pipe(name)
+        # TODO: maybe add some more checks / catch errors that may occur if
+        # user removes a disabled pipe in the with block
         self[:] = []
 
 
diff --git a/spacy/schemas.py b/spacy/schemas.py
index 399a25932..be8db6a99 100644
--- a/spacy/schemas.py
+++ b/spacy/schemas.py
@@ -223,6 +223,7 @@ class ConfigSchemaNlp(BaseModel):
     # fmt: off
     lang: StrictStr = Field(..., title="The base language to use")
     pipeline: List[StrictStr] = Field(..., title="The pipeline component names in order")
+    disabled: List[StrictStr] = Field(..., title="Pipeline components to disable by default")
     tokenizer: Callable = Field(..., title="The tokenizer to use")
     load_vocab_data: StrictBool = Field(..., title="Whether to load additional vocab data from spacy-lookups-data")
     before_creation: Optional[Callable[[Type["Language"]], Type["Language"]]] = Field(..., title="Optional callback to modify Language class before initialization")
diff --git a/spacy/tests/pipeline/test_pipe_methods.py b/spacy/tests/pipeline/test_pipe_methods.py
index 2099964a6..cb91f546f 100644
--- a/spacy/tests/pipeline/test_pipe_methods.py
+++ b/spacy/tests/pipeline/test_pipe_methods.py
@@ -249,3 +249,66 @@ def test_add_pipe_before_after():
         nlp.add_pipe("entity_ruler", before=True)
     with pytest.raises(ValueError):
         nlp.add_pipe("entity_ruler", first=False)
+
+
+def test_disable_enable_pipes():
+    name = "test_disable_enable_pipes"
+    results = {}
+
+    def make_component(name):
+        results[name] = ""
+
+        def component(doc):
+            nonlocal results
+            results[name] = doc.text
+            return doc
+
+        return component
+
+    c1 = Language.component(f"{name}1", func=make_component(f"{name}1"))
+    c2 = Language.component(f"{name}2", func=make_component(f"{name}2"))
+
+    nlp = Language()
+    nlp.add_pipe(f"{name}1")
+    nlp.add_pipe(f"{name}2")
+    assert results[f"{name}1"] == ""
+    assert results[f"{name}2"] == ""
+    assert nlp.pipeline == [(f"{name}1", c1), (f"{name}2", c2)]
+    assert nlp.pipe_names == [f"{name}1", f"{name}2"]
+    nlp.disable_pipe(f"{name}1")
+    assert nlp._disabled == set([f"{name}1"])
+    assert nlp._pipe_names == [f"{name}1", f"{name}2"]
+    assert nlp.pipe_names == [f"{name}2"]
+    assert nlp.config["nlp"]["disabled"] == [f"{name}1"]
+    nlp("hello")
+    assert results[f"{name}1"] == ""  # didn't run
+    assert results[f"{name}2"] == "hello"  # ran
+    nlp.enable_pipe(f"{name}1")
+    assert nlp._disabled == set()
+    assert nlp.pipe_names == [f"{name}1", f"{name}2"]
+    assert nlp.config["nlp"]["disabled"] == []
+    nlp("world")
+    assert results[f"{name}1"] == "world"
+    assert results[f"{name}2"] == "world"
+    nlp.disable_pipe(f"{name}2")
+    nlp.remove_pipe(f"{name}2")
+    assert nlp._pipeline == [(f"{name}1", c1)]
+    assert nlp.pipeline == [(f"{name}1", c1)]
+    assert nlp._pipe_names == [f"{name}1"]
+    assert nlp.pipe_names == [f"{name}1"]
+    assert nlp._disabled == set()
+    assert nlp.config["nlp"]["disabled"] == []
+    nlp.rename_pipe(f"{name}1", name)
+    assert nlp._pipeline == [(name, c1)]
+    assert nlp._pipe_names == [name]
+    nlp("!")
+    assert results[f"{name}1"] == "!"
+    assert results[f"{name}2"] == "world"
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        nlp.disable_pipe(f"{name}2")
+    nlp.disable_pipe(name)
+    assert nlp._pipe_names == [name]
+    assert nlp.pipe_names == []
+    assert nlp.config["nlp"]["disabled"] == [name]
+    nlp("?")
+    assert results[f"{name}1"] == "!"
diff --git a/spacy/tests/regression/test_issue4501-5000.py b/spacy/tests/regression/test_issue4501-5000.py
index d16ecc1e6..39533f70a 100644
--- a/spacy/tests/regression/test_issue4501-5000.py
+++ b/spacy/tests/regression/test_issue4501-5000.py
@@ -161,6 +161,7 @@ def test_issue4674():
     assert kb2.get_size_entities() == 1
 
 
+@pytest.mark.skip(reason="API change: disable just disables, new exclude arg")
 def test_issue4707():
     """Tests that disabled component names are also excluded from nlp.from_disk
     by default when loading a model.
diff --git a/spacy/tests/serialize/test_serialize_pipeline.py b/spacy/tests/serialize/test_serialize_pipeline.py
index 7ba4815ee..3ad60c76f 100644
--- a/spacy/tests/serialize/test_serialize_pipeline.py
+++ b/spacy/tests/serialize/test_serialize_pipeline.py
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ from spacy.pipeline.dep_parser import DEFAULT_PARSER_MODEL
 from spacy.pipeline.tagger import DEFAULT_TAGGER_MODEL
 from spacy.pipeline.textcat import DEFAULT_TEXTCAT_MODEL
 from spacy.pipeline.senter import DEFAULT_SENTER_MODEL
+from spacy.lang.en import English
+import spacy
 
 from ..util import make_tempdir
 
@@ -173,3 +175,34 @@ def test_serialize_sentencerecognizer(en_vocab):
     sr_b = sr.to_bytes()
     sr_d = SentenceRecognizer(en_vocab, model).from_bytes(sr_b)
     assert sr.to_bytes() == sr_d.to_bytes()
+
+
+def test_serialize_pipeline_disable_enable():
+    nlp = English()
+    nlp.add_pipe("ner")
+    nlp.add_pipe("tagger")
+    nlp.disable_pipe("tagger")
+    assert nlp.config["nlp"]["disabled"] == ["tagger"]
+    config = nlp.config.copy()
+    nlp2 = English.from_config(config)
+    assert nlp2.pipe_names == ["ner"]
+    assert nlp2._pipe_names == ["ner", "tagger"]
+    assert nlp2._disabled == set(["tagger"])
+    assert nlp2.config["nlp"]["disabled"] == ["tagger"]
+    with make_tempdir() as d:
+        nlp2.to_disk(d)
+        nlp3 = spacy.load(d)
+    assert nlp3.pipe_names == ["ner"]
+    assert nlp3._pipe_names == ["ner", "tagger"]
+    with make_tempdir() as d:
+        nlp3.to_disk(d)
+        nlp4 = spacy.load(d, disable=["ner"])
+    assert nlp4.pipe_names == []
+    assert nlp4._pipe_names == ["ner", "tagger"]
+    assert nlp4._disabled == set(["ner", "tagger"])
+    with make_tempdir() as d:
+        nlp.to_disk(d)
+        nlp5 = spacy.load(d, exclude=["tagger"])
+    assert nlp5.pipe_names == ["ner"]
+    assert nlp5._pipe_names == ["ner"]
+    assert nlp5._disabled == set()
diff --git a/spacy/util.py b/spacy/util.py
index 8ba164dc1..d12e54dc7 100644
--- a/spacy/util.py
+++ b/spacy/util.py
@@ -216,6 +216,7 @@ def load_model(
     *,
     vocab: Union["Vocab", bool] = True,
     disable: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
+    exclude: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
     config: Union[Dict[str, Any], Config] = SimpleFrozenDict(),
 ) -> "Language":
     """Load a model from a package or data path.
@@ -228,7 +229,7 @@ def load_model(
         keyed by section values in dot notation.
     RETURNS (Language): The loaded nlp object.
     """
-    kwargs = {"vocab": vocab, "disable": disable, "config": config}
+    kwargs = {"vocab": vocab, "disable": disable, "exclude": exclude, "config": config}
     if isinstance(name, str):  # name or string path
         if name.startswith("blank:"):  # shortcut for blank model
             return get_lang_class(name.replace("blank:", ""))()
@@ -248,6 +249,7 @@ def load_model_from_package(
     *,
     vocab: Union["Vocab", bool] = True,
     disable: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
+    exclude: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
     config: Union[Dict[str, Any], Config] = SimpleFrozenDict(),
 ) -> "Language":
     """Load a model from an installed package.
@@ -255,13 +257,17 @@ def load_model_from_package(
     name (str): The package name.
     vocab (Vocab / True): Optional vocab to pass in on initialization. If True,
         a new Vocab object will be created.
-    disable (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to disable.
+    disable (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to disable. Disabled
+        pipes will be loaded but they won't be run unless you explicitly
+        enable them by calling nlp.enable_pipe.
+    exclude (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to exclude. Excluded
+        components won't be loaded.
     config (Dict[str, Any] / Config): Config overrides as nested dict or dict
         keyed by section values in dot notation.
     RETURNS (Language): The loaded nlp object.
     """
     cls = importlib.import_module(name)
-    return cls.load(vocab=vocab, disable=disable, config=config)
+    return cls.load(vocab=vocab, disable=disable, exclude=exclude, config=config)
 
 
 def load_model_from_path(
@@ -270,6 +276,7 @@ def load_model_from_path(
     meta: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
     vocab: Union["Vocab", bool] = True,
     disable: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
+    exclude: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
     config: Union[Dict[str, Any], Config] = SimpleFrozenDict(),
 ) -> "Language":
     """Load a model from a data directory path. Creates Language class with
@@ -279,7 +286,11 @@ def load_model_from_path(
     meta (Dict[str, Any]): Optional model meta.
     vocab (Vocab / True): Optional vocab to pass in on initialization. If True,
         a new Vocab object will be created.
-    disable (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to disable.
+    disable (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to disable. Disabled
+        pipes will be loaded but they won't be run unless you explicitly
+        enable them by calling nlp.enable_pipe.
+    exclude (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to exclude. Excluded
+        components won't be loaded.
     config (Dict[str, Any] / Config): Config overrides as nested dict or dict
         keyed by section values in dot notation.
     RETURNS (Language): The loaded nlp object.
@@ -290,8 +301,10 @@ def load_model_from_path(
         meta = get_model_meta(model_path)
     config_path = model_path / "config.cfg"
     config = load_config(config_path, overrides=dict_to_dot(config))
-    nlp, _ = load_model_from_config(config, vocab=vocab, disable=disable)
-    return nlp.from_disk(model_path, exclude=disable)
+    nlp, _ = load_model_from_config(
+        config, vocab=vocab, disable=disable, exclude=exclude
+    )
+    return nlp.from_disk(model_path, exclude=exclude)
 
 
 def load_model_from_config(
@@ -299,6 +312,7 @@ def load_model_from_config(
     *,
     vocab: Union["Vocab", bool] = True,
     disable: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
+    exclude: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
     auto_fill: bool = False,
     validate: bool = True,
 ) -> Tuple["Language", Config]:
@@ -309,7 +323,11 @@ def load_model_from_config(
     meta (Dict[str, Any]): Optional model meta.
     vocab (Vocab / True): Optional vocab to pass in on initialization. If True,
         a new Vocab object will be created.
-    disable (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to disable.
+    disable (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to disable. Disabled
+        pipes will be loaded but they won't be run unless you explicitly
+        enable them by calling nlp.enable_pipe.
+    exclude (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to exclude. Excluded
+        components won't be loaded.
     auto_fill (bool): Whether to auto-fill config with missing defaults.
     validate (bool): Whether to show config validation errors.
     RETURNS (Language): The loaded nlp object.
@@ -323,7 +341,12 @@ def load_model_from_config(
     # registry, including custom subclasses provided via entry points
     lang_cls = get_lang_class(nlp_config["lang"])
     nlp = lang_cls.from_config(
-        config, vocab=vocab, disable=disable, auto_fill=auto_fill, validate=validate,
+        config,
+        vocab=vocab,
+        disable=disable,
+        exclude=exclude,
+        auto_fill=auto_fill,
+        validate=validate,
     )
     return nlp, nlp.resolved
 
@@ -333,6 +356,7 @@ def load_model_from_init_py(
     *,
     vocab: Union["Vocab", bool] = True,
     disable: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
+    exclude: Iterable[str] = tuple(),
     config: Union[Dict[str, Any], Config] = SimpleFrozenDict(),
 ) -> "Language":
     """Helper function to use in the `load()` method of a model package's
@@ -340,7 +364,11 @@ def load_model_from_init_py(
 
     vocab (Vocab / True): Optional vocab to pass in on initialization. If True,
         a new Vocab object will be created.
-    disable (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to disable.
+    disable (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to disable. Disabled
+        pipes will be loaded but they won't be run unless you explicitly
+        enable them by calling nlp.enable_pipe.
+    exclude (Iterable[str]): Names of pipeline components to exclude. Excluded
+        components won't be loaded.
     config (Dict[str, Any] / Config): Config overrides as nested dict or dict
         keyed by section values in dot notation.
     RETURNS (Language): The loaded nlp object.
@@ -352,7 +380,12 @@ def load_model_from_init_py(
     if not model_path.exists():
         raise IOError(Errors.E052.format(path=data_path))
     return load_model_from_path(
-        data_path, vocab=vocab, meta=meta, disable=disable, config=config
+        data_path,
+        vocab=vocab,
+        meta=meta,
+        disable=disable,
+        exclude=exclude,
+        config=config,
     )