Synonyms of excess

excess 1 of 3

adjective

as in extra

being over what is needed

any excess food from the party will be donated to a shelter for the homeless

Synonyms & Similar Words

• extra
• surplus
• spare
• additional
• unwanted
• unnecessary
• superfluous
• redundant
• supernumerary
• supererogatory
• ample
• supplementary
• unneeded
• supplemental
• accessory
• needless
• extraneous
• nonessential
• plentiful
• abundant
• copious
• unessential
• gratuitous
• bountiful
• dispensable
• plenteous
• uncalled-for
• de trop

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• insufficient
• inadequate
• short
• meager
• deficient
• scarce
• poor
• scant
• sparse
• scanty
• skimpy
• shortish

excess

2 of 3

noun

ik-ˈses 

1

as in surplus

the state or an instance of going beyond what is usual, proper, or needed

a new television season with an excess of sitcoms featuring wisecracking teenagers

Synonyms & Similar Words

• surplus
• abundance
• overflow
• sufficiency
• overabundance
• surplusage
• overage
• surfeit
• oversupply
• superabundance
• superfluity
• plus
• overplus
• fat
• plethora
• overkill
• plenty
• redundancy
• bounty
• overmuch
• bellyful
• overproduction
• profusion
• plentitude
• overstock

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• deficiency
• deficit
• insufficiency
• lack
• scarcity
• undersupply
• dearth
• want

2

as in excessiveness

a propensity for extremes in one's actions, beliefs, or habits

the wretched excess that is so often found in the world of show business

Synonyms & Similar Words

• excessiveness
• immoderation
• extremism
• exorbitance
• extravagance
• intemperance
• immoderacy
• unreasonableness
• irrationality
• nimiety
• prodigality
• radicalism
• insobriety
• intemperateness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• moderation
• temperance
• temperateness
• moderateness

excess

3 of 3

verb

as in to lay off

Related Words

• lay off
• sack
• trim
• remove
• downsize
• can
• ax
• turn off
• dismiss
• muster out
• discharge
• retire
• furlough
• terminate
• fire
• bounce
• pink-slip
• release
• kick out
• throw out
• boot (out)
• chuck (out)
• unseat
• cashier
• drum (out)
• separate

Dissimilar Words

• retain
• employ
• engage
• sign (up or on)
• take on
• keep
• hire
• contract
• reemploy
• recruit
• subcontract
• rehire

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of excess

Adjective

Instead, excess testosterone is converted into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which causes the hair follicles to become smaller and then the hair strands to become thinner. — Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2026

Meanwhile, tea tree extract keeps excess sebum at bay, fighting against an oil slick T-zone, leaving skin clean and balanced but not overly dry. — Kiana Murden, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2026

Noun

In Lois Lowry’s dystopian novel The Giver, a world of human complexity has been flattened deliberately to remove the inconvenient excesses of emotion and feeling. — Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026

Over his shoulder was an enormous portrait of the hatchet-wielding temperance crusader Carrie Nation, an icon of resistance to the excesses of the first Gilded Age, when similar discontent had roiled the prairies. — Kyle Paoletta, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Verb

Over the past few months my wife has begun drinking to excess every evening. — Amy Dickinson, Anchorage Daily News, 17 July 2023

You’ve been quoted as saying that that is really what the film is about — not so much drinking to excess as embracing the uncontrollable. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2021