immoderate

American  

[ih-mod-er-it] / ɪˈmɒd ər ɪt /

adjective

1. not moderate; exceeding just or reasonable limits; excessive; extreme.

   Synonyms:

   extravagant, inordinate, unreasonable, exorbitant

2. Obsolete. intemperate.

3. Obsolete. without bounds.

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immoderate British  

/ ɪˈmɒdərɪt, ɪˈmɒdrɪt /

adjective

1. lacking in moderation; excessive

   immoderate demands

2. obsolete venial; intemperate

   immoderate habits

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Other Word Forms

• immoderately adverb
• immoderateness noun
• immoderation noun

Etymology

Origin of immoderate

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word immoderātus. See im- ², moderate

Explanation

Something that goes way overboard or is excessive is immoderate. Immoderate exercise can lead to pulled muscles and sprains. If someone's behavior is unreasonable or extreme, you can call it immoderate. Immoderate spending results in arms full of shopping bags and a whole lot of credit card debt, and immoderate eating at a huge breakfast buffet can give you a stomach ache for the rest of the day. Immoderate is the opposite of the adjective moderate, which means calm or restrained. Both words have the same Latin root, moderatus, "within bounds, or observing moderation."

Example Sentences

And, anyway, isn’t it a relief to talk about a 40-year-old composer with the immoderate enthusiasm we generally reserve for the pillars of the classical canon?

From New York Times • Jan. 1, 2021

Ehrenreich records the medieval Christian church’s long battle to eradicate unruly, ecstatic or immoderate dancing from the congregation.

From The Guardian • Jun. 2, 2020

Meanwhile, Babylon took on the most immoderate overtones imaginable the night before in an extraordinary new Staatsoper Unter der Linden in Berlin production of Jörg Widmann’s “Babylon.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2019

MacCulloch paints a portrait of Cromwell as a brilliant individualist with a talent for making money, a head for languages, an immoderate love of books and many friends.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 10, 2018

And might we not expect a "dude" to fall into immoderate laughter at the sight of a "popinjay"?

From The Gentle Reader by Crothers, Samuel McChord