immoderate
Americanadjective
-
not moderate; exceeding just or reasonable limits; excessive; extreme.
- Synonyms:
- extravagant, inordinate, unreasonable, exorbitant
-
Obsolete. intemperate.
-
Obsolete. without bounds.
adjective
-
lacking in moderation; excessive
immoderate demands
-
obsolete venial; intemperate
immoderate habits
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing immoderate
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"
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The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
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Measure for Measure
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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.
Immoderate as the moderate Tarn Chau might have appeared, he could not hold a candle to Thich Tri Quang, the rebellious high priest of Hue.
From Time Magazine Archive
Immoderate and humorless as Marxian sectarian journalists, as human beings the Partisan Review editors are an eager, uneven, engaging crew.
From Time Magazine Archive
This is no more than I foretold: and well If his intemp’rance would stop here!—But this Immoderate indulgence must produce Some terrible misfortune in the end.
From The Comedies of Terence by Colman, George
Immoderate frenzy made him leap upon his arms, and he dashed outside.
From Salammbo by Flaubert, Gustave
Immoderate earthly enjoyments—unbroken earthly prosperity—write upon these, “Beware!”
From The Mind of Jesus by Macduff, John R. (John Ross)
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.
