IMMODERATE Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'immoderate' different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of immoderate are excessive , exorbitant , extravagant , extreme , and inordinate . While all these words mean "going beyond a normal limit," immoderate implies lack of desirable or necessary restraint. // immoderate spending

Q: When can 'excessive' be used instead of 'immoderate'?

In some situations, the words excessive and immoderate are roughly equivalent. However, excessive implies an amount or degree too great to be reasonable or acceptable. // excessive punishment

Q: When is 'exorbitant' a more appropriate choice than 'immoderate'?

The synonyms exorbitant and immoderate are sometimes interchangeable, but exorbitant implies a departure from accepted standards regarding amount or degree. // exorbitant prices

Q: Where would 'extravagant' be a reasonable alternative to 'immoderate'?

While the synonyms extravagant and immoderate are close in meaning, extravagant implies an indifference to restraints imposed by truth, prudence, or good taste. // extravagant claims for the product

Q: When would 'extreme' be a good substitute for 'immoderate'?

The meanings of extreme and immoderate largely overlap; however, extreme may imply an approach to the farthest limit possible or conceivable but commonly means only to a notably high degree. // extreme shyness

Q: In what contexts can 'inordinate' take the place of 'immoderate'?

The words inordinate and immoderate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, inordinate implies an exceeding of the limits dictated by reason or good judgment. // inordinate pride

immoderate

adjective

(ˌ)i(m)-ˈmä-d(ə-)rət

Definition of immoderate next

as in excessive

going beyond a normal or acceptable limit in degree or amount the young widow remarried with what was regarded as immoderate haste by most observers

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Some common synonyms of immoderate are excessive, exorbitant, extravagant, extreme, and inordinate. While all these words mean "going beyond a normal limit," immoderate implies lack of desirable or necessary restraint.

immoderate spending

When can excessive be used instead of immoderate?

In some situations, the words excessive and immoderate are roughly equivalent. However, excessive implies an amount or degree too great to be reasonable or acceptable.

excessive punishment

When is exorbitant a more appropriate choice than immoderate?

The synonyms exorbitant and immoderate are sometimes interchangeable, but exorbitant implies a departure from accepted standards regarding amount or degree.

exorbitant prices

Where would extravagant be a reasonable alternative to immoderate?

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

extravagant claims for the product

When would extreme be a good substitute for immoderate?

The meanings of extreme and immoderate largely overlap; however, extreme may imply an approach to the farthest limit possible or conceivable but commonly means only to a notably high degree.

extreme shyness

In what contexts can inordinate take the place of immoderate?

The words inordinate and immoderate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, 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 immoderate Still, abandoning my life in New York City and committing to the incalculable unknowns of being the resident baker at the South Pole was immoderate, even for me. —

Cree Lefavour, New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2026 This was accentuated by their immoderate use of black, putting the accent on cut and proportion. —

Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 12 Dec. 2025 Adult death is always strangely humiliating but this was something more, conceptually distressing, theoretically immoderate, elaborately unkind. —

Joy Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025 And drinking any type of alcohol in any type of immoderate way can bring more than a shot of risks. —

Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024 That would have put the celebration on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, a day traditionally marked by a big pancake supper and other immoderate and extravagant indulgences on the night before fasting and sobriety take over for Lent. —

Ruth Graham, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024 The meat is juicy, salty and a little stringy, with a thick, craggy crust laced with an immoderate amount of black pepper. —

Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024 Haley’s gift is to come across as a moderate while espousing immoderate views and surrounding herself with extremists. —

Sue Halpern, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2023 Mia got her gig and Lucia got her money; that final shot, in which the two best friends skip off together to make immoderate purchases, might be the closest thing White will ever give us to a happy ending. —

Time, 12 Dec. 2022

Recent Examples of Synonyms for immoderate

Adjective

The author emphasizes that the library book controversy—central to the group’s identity—was excessive and poorly conceived.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
Ed Masley Weather can make all the difference at an outdoor music festival, as anyone who’s shivered through a cold and rainy night to see their favorite band (or couldn’t take selfies because their smartphone powered down to save itself from the excessive heat) can tell you.

— Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 9 Apr. 2026