excessive
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of excessive
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English ( see 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.
“We’re going after police for excessive force,” he said.
From Slate • May 28, 2026
The government has designated roughly 50 metric tons of plutonium as weapons-grade but excessive to national security needs.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
There are risks to policyholders: Asset managers could impose excessive fees on affiliated insurers or stash underperforming, hard-to-sell assets on insurance company balance sheets.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
However, in February whistleblowing retired civil servants told the BBC that Mountbatten-Windsor charged taxpayers for excessive travel costs and massages while working in the UK trade envoy role.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
And his heart lugged under the excessive load, the shock of recognition.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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.
