exorbitant

adjective

ex·​or·​bi·​tant ig-ˈzȯr-bə-tənt 

1

: not coming within the scope of the law

2

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

exorbitantly adverb

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How was exorbitant first used?

Not all who wander are lost, but at one time such errant souls might have been called exorbitant. Exorbitant traces back to the Late Latin verb exorbitare, meaning “to deviate,” which in turn was formed by combining the prefix ex- (“out of”) with the noun orbita, which referred to the rut or track of a wheel. While exorbitant could describe something moving erratically—physically straying from its usual course—it was also applied figuratively to other “wanderers,” such as off-topic remarks, powers going beyond the scope of the law, and even sinful people, i.e., those no longer on the straight and narrow. Eventually, exorbitant developed its extended sense as a synonym of excessive, and it is now used to describe that which exceeds appropriate or customary limits in intensity, quality, amount, or size.

Synonyms

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

Choose the Right Synonym for exorbitant

excessive, immoderate, inordinate, extravagant, exorbitant, extreme mean going beyond a normal limit.

excessive implies an amount or degree too great to be reasonable or acceptable.

excessive punishment

immoderate implies lack of desirable or necessary restraint.

immoderate spending

inordinate implies an exceeding of the limits dictated by reason or good judgment.

inordinate pride

extravagant implies an indifference to restraints imposed by truth, prudence, or good taste.

extravagant claims for the product

exorbitant implies a departure from accepted standards regarding amount or degree.

exorbitant prices

extreme may imply an approach to the farthest limit possible or conceivable but commonly means only to a notably high degree.

extreme shyness

Examples of exorbitant in a Sentence

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

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

… 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

They were charged exorbitant rates for phone calls.

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

Recent Examples on the Web

The World Food Programme (WFP) said this week its warehouses are now empty; soup kitchens that are still running are severely rationing their last stocks; and what little food remains in Gaza’s markets is being sold for exorbitant prices that most cannot afford. —Kathleen Magramo, CNN Money, 2 May 2025

That was even a problem for the team when Antetokounmpo's ex-Bucks comrades Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton were in their primes — and was part of general manager Jon Horst's impetus in flipping Holiday for Lillard's exorbitant contract in the summer of 2023. —Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025

That has led many prospective partners to meet the superstar’s exorbitant rates—and given that many of the country’s CEOs are baseball fans, there may be an element of gaining access to Ohtani, too. —Justin Birnbaum, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025

Conversely, the villains are the ones with the money and the upper hand like The Joker and Black Mask, who have exorbitant amounts of capabilities through their seemingly endless fortunes. —Kevin Sabet, Newsweek, 24 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

exorbitant

adjective

ex·​or·​bi·​tant ig-ˈzȯr-bət-ənt 

: going beyond the limits of what is fair, reasonable, or expected

exorbitant prices

exorbitantly adverb