excessive
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- excessively adverb
- excessiveness noun
- nonexcessive adjective
- nonexcessiveness noun
- quasi-excessive adjective
- unexcessive adjective
Etymology
Origin of excessive
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English ( excess, -ive ); replacing Middle English excessif, from Middle French
Explanation
Excessive means beyond what is typical or normal. When something is excessive, there's way too much. Excessive refers to something that is extra — usually in a negative way. A 90-second drum solo in a two-minute song is excessive. Getting down on your knees and kissing someone's feet to thank them for a favor is excessive, unless they gave you their firstborn. Often this means something that exceeds the bounds of good taste, or is extravagant and inappropriately expensive. You should dress up for dinner, but wearing a ball gown to a diner is excessive.
Vocabulary lists containing excessive
The Bill of Rights
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I got the impression she thought his gifts to his sons were excessive.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026
Skinner, however, argues that nuisance laws should only be used to address local, easily fixable problems, like excessive noise from a bar.
From Salon • Apr. 10, 2026
Today, there are very few offices in the country without air-conditioning - though some will argue that its use tends to be quite excessive.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
De Izaguirre said that while fuel surcharges so far are "far too low" to offset the higher costs, "airlines are afraid of a negative impact if the increases become too excessive".
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
It was not: the rooms of the old house rang on winter nights with male cheer, and occasionally a shotgun would be let off, not in anger but in excessive high spirits.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
