excessive Hear it!

excessive definition

ex·ces·sive (ek ses′iv, ik-)

adjective

characterized by excess; being too much or too great; immoderate; inordinate

Etymology: ME & OFr excessif < ML excessivus

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

excessive Synonyms

excessive

modif.

immoderate, inordinate, extreme, extravagant, exorbitant, too much, too great, disproportionate, unwarranted, undue, unnecessary, unreasonable, uncalled-for, overmuch, superfluous, redundant, lavish, prodigal, overdone; see also extreme 2, undue.

excessive applies to that which goes beyond what is proper, right, or usual excessive demands; exorbitant suggests unreasonable excess and often connotes a greedy desire for more than is just or due exorbitant prices; extravagant and immoderate both imply excessiveness resulting from lack of restraint or of prudence extravagant praise, immoderate laughter; inordinate implies a going beyond the orderly limits of convention or the bounds of good taste his inordinate pride


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

excessive Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • grossly: Levels of state expenditure, taxation, and public debt are all grossly excessive.

Preposition: for

  • purpose: In addition, their overhead can be excessive for some purposes.

Modifies a noun

  • drinking: Excessive drinking creates problems in every section of society.

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: That said, your son's charges do seem excessive.

Preposition: in

  • relation: III: Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed.
excessive usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

excessive quotes

A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.

-Hamilton, Alexander

   I was relieved to hear that your welcome was not excessive.

-Ustinov, Sir PeterAlexander

excessive quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"excessive." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/excessive>

APA Style

excessive. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/excessive

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment