inordinately
Americanadverb
-
in a way or to a degree that goes beyond proper or reasonable limits; immoderately or excessively.
He was inordinately proud of his ability to read Latin.
If your teen is inordinately anxious about school and grades, this is the time to be watchful.
-
in a disordered or uncontrolled way.
All economists, I am advised, agree that the principle of competition operates inordinately in certain industries.
Etymology
Origin of inordinately
First recorded in 1425–75; inordinate ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
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.
Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Iran "is inordinately more complex than Venezuela," with more diffuse centers of power.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
The inordinately high number of fatalities at the Hyundai property is an indication of a lax safety culture, said Ahmed Al-Bayati, founding director of the Construction Safety Research Center at Lawrence Technological University, in Michigan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2025
And, of course, Joe Biden is inordinately proud of his own personal Irish heritage - he had ancestors in County Mayo and County Louth.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2024
And “Schindler’s List,” it’s worth acknowledging, is inordinately at times almost indecently entertaining.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2023
But the fact that I survived physically, that in a time period well into my fifties I never collapsed or needed time off to recuperate, is something I am inordinately proud of.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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.
