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 ( 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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"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.
In the lawsuit, the arson investigators alleged that they were targeted with sham investigations, passed up for promotions and other opportunities and subjected to excessive criticism and increased workloads.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
Active management, by shifting capital allocation across sectors and avoiding excessive concentration in any one sector, may serve investors better than a low-fee index fund.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026
These latest proposals, narrowly focused on specific tax strategies, are adding to a debate among Democratic lawmakers over how best to address excessive levels of wealth in the U.S.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
Germany’s government proposed nearly $2 billion in fuel-price relief, but ECB President Christine Lagarde warned against excessive government support.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
The second subsection reviews three issues: the problem of focusing on a description of professional activity rather than an exposition of subject matter, the overuse of apologetic language, and the disadvantages of excessive hedging.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
