excessive
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived 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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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.
And excessive volatility can scare off some investors.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
Disinflation is scarce: Counterintuitively, big price gains in food and energy are not the real cause of excessive inflation, Faulkner-MacDonagh says.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
Supplements may be useful when dietary intake is insufficient or osteoporosis is present, but excessive intake should be avoided.
From Science Daily • Jun. 6, 2026
By reducing the need for excessive household saving, hukou reform would increase consumption as a percentage of gross domestic product by 0.6 percentage point over five years, recent research from the International Monetary Fund argued.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
They were a bit excessive, she tells Gogol with a roll of her eyes, the type to lavish her with perfume and jewels.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
