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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"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.
"Excessive indebtedness threatens sovereignty and limits the capacity to act," said Merz, whose comments were likely also directed to a domestic political audience.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
Excessive pumping of groundwater has led to long-term declines in about 70% of the world’s major aquifers, and in many areas these declines are causing the land to sink.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 21, 2026
Excessive IFN-gamma can lead to myocarditis-like symptoms and breakdown of heart muscle proteins.
From Science Daily • Dec. 27, 2025
"Excessive restrictions on the evidence or questioning which may be led at trial can therefore be incompatible with the right to a fair trial."
From BBC • Nov. 12, 2025
Excessive electricity isn’t always a bad thing—for Vincent.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
