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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Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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List 5
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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.
"To be violent conduct, it has to have excessive force or brutality. When you look at that, particularly in full speed, it doesn't have those elements. So therefore, this would be a yellow card offence."
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Bouncing from objective to objective has involved excessive efforts to manage the real economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Social wasp cuticular hydrocarbons change structure in response to heat, better protecting them from desiccation in excessive heat.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
Further, the former employee says that she was “required to work excessive and unsafe hours” and told not to report overtime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Enquiries based on this premise are bound to conclude that the claims made on behalf of well-founded beliefs are excessive because that conclusion is built into the methodology.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
