exorbitant

ex·or·bi·tant

adj \ig-ˈzȯr-bə-tənt\

Definition of EXORBITANT

1

: not coming within the scope of the law

2

: exceeding the customary or appropriate limits in intensity, quality, amount, or size

— ex·or·bi·tant·ly adverb

Examples of EXORBITANT

1. They were charged exorbitant rates for phone calls.
2. <the cost of our stay was so exorbitant you would have thought that we had bought the hotel and not just spent a few nights there>
3. The citizens of Xiaoli Village move lazily, with a languor born of chronic underemployment. They are farmers by tradition, but exorbitant taxes have leached any profitability out of their profession. —Hannah Beech, Time, 27 Oct. 2003
4. As with the black truffle, foie gras is as exorbitant ($52 a pound) as it is decadent (one gram of foie gras can reportedly be 900 calories). —Heather Morgan, Traveler, April 2000
5. … I recommend that the Congress adopt … [a] continuation of the law for the renegotiation of war contracts—which will prevent exorbitant profits and assure fair prices to the Government. —Franklin D. Roosevelt, 11 Jan. 1944, in Nothing to Fear by B. D. Zevin, 1946

Origin of EXORBITANT

Middle English, from Late Latin exorbitant-, exorbitans, present participle of exorbitare to deviate, from Latin ex- + orbita track of a wheel, rut, from orbis disk, hoop

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to EXORBITANT

Synonyms: baroque, devilish, excessive, extravagant, extreme, fancy, immoderate, inordinate, insane, intolerable, lavish, overdue, overextravagant, overmuch, overweening, plethoric, steep, stiff, towering, unconscionable, undue, unmerciful

Antonyms: middling, moderate, modest, reasonable, temperate

Related Words: boundless, endless, immeasurable, infinite, limitless; unbearable, unjustifiable, unwarranted; improper, inappropriate, thick, unseemly; unrestrained

Near Antonyms: deficient, inadequate, insufficient; minimal, minimum

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See Synonym Discussion at excessive