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excessive amounts
extreme amounts
unnecessary amounts
copious amounts
unhealthy amounts
enormous amounts
excessive use
excessive wear
extreme wear
heavy wear
massive wear

Synonym Chooser

How is the word excessive different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of excessive are exorbitant, extravagant, extreme, immoderate, and inordinate. While all these words mean "going beyond a normal limit," excessive implies an amount or degree too great to be reasonable or acceptable.

excessive punishment

When is exorbitant a more appropriate choice than excessive?

The words exorbitant and excessive can be used in similar contexts, but exorbitant implies a departure from accepted standards regarding amount or degree.

exorbitant prices

Where would extravagant be a reasonable alternative to excessive?

While the synonyms extravagant and excessive are close in meaning, extravagant implies an indifference to restraints imposed by truth, prudence, or good taste.

extravagant claims for the product

When might extreme be a better fit than excessive?

Although the words extreme and excessive have much in common, extreme may imply an approach to the farthest limit possible or conceivable but commonly means only to a notably high degree.

extreme shyness

When can immoderate be used instead of excessive?

The words immoderate and excessive are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, immoderate implies lack of desirable or necessary restraint.

immoderate spending

When is it sensible to use inordinate instead of excessive?

The meanings of inordinate and excessive largely overlap; however, inordinate implies an exceeding of the limits dictated by reason or good judgment.

inordinate pride

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of excessive Whether your hair is naturally dry or parched from excessive color treatments and heat styling, brittle strands are a stubborn bummer. Annie Blackman, Glamour, 14 July 2025 Instead, this study revealed an association between reported feelings of anxiety on Mondays and excessive levels of glucocorticoid production. New Atlas, 13 July 2025 But bad government policies like rent control and excessive spending and bureaucratic laws like the California Environmental Quality Act that drive up housing construction costs are as much to blame here, if not more. Matt Fleming, Oc Register, 13 July 2025 This thunderstorm is producing an excessive amount of deadly cloud to ground lightning. Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 13 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for excessive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excessive
Adjective
  • Flooding is the second-deadliest weather hazard in the U.S. behind extreme heat.
    Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025
  • While many farmers lean on a relentless optimism to get through the uncertainty of relying on the weather for a living, extreme weather disasters like catastrophic floods, droughts and wildfires can take a toll.
    CBS News, CBS News, 11 July 2025
Adjective
  • Per the logline, gaining access to the yacht’s extravagant amenities won’t be so simple.
    Peter White, Deadline, 14 July 2025
  • Ra’s decades-long adherence to this personal mythology, along with his air of serene bemusement and his extravagant robes and headdresses, led to his popular image as a colorful eccentric.
    Ekow Eshun July 11, Literary Hub, 11 July 2025
Adjective
  • Amanda learned in like 10 seconds, which is insane.
    Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2025
  • The emu egg—a two pound, eight-inch ovoid with a sultry teal shell gently speckled in pale green—seemed like just the right absurdist final flourish for an already insane endeavor.
    Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Since March, the Trump administration has oscillated between implementing and pausing steep tariffs on some of the United States’ largest trading partners.
    Cailey Gleeson, jsonline.com, 14 July 2025
  • In addition to Tha Carter III, Wayne’s recent release Tha Carter VI drops from No. 47 to No. 124, a steep decline just a month into its run.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
Adjective
  • The Champagne Bar is a more casual outpost, although still quite lavish (it’s called the Champagne Bar, after all).
    Elise Taylor, Vogue, 9 July 2025
  • However, that style, former college coach and NBA coach Lon Kruger said, is harder to employ in the pros, where players are grown men with lavish salaries and stars often possess more power than the coach.
    Rustin Dodd, New York Times, 8 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Excessive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excessive. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

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