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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Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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"Too Young to Drive?" and "Rules of the Road"
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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.
When movement became too random, congestion disappeared but efficiency dropped due to excessive wandering.
From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026
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
Under the party's proposals, individual councils would be given the power to cap excessive rents for their local market and renters would be given a new right to demand energy efficiency improvements.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
The handle felt funny in my hand, cool and smooth-edged, like it had been worn down by excessive holding.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
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.
