excessive

excessive — adjective

1. Much more of something than is needed, wanted, or considered reasonable — often

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

Much more of something than is needed, wanted, or considered reasonable — often causing problems or harm.

Example

The doctor warned Ishaan that excessive sugar was bad for his health.

attributive: excessive + [noun] (sugar)

Eri thought the amount of packaging on the gift was excessive.

Common collocations
  • excessive force
  • excessive drinking
  • excessive speed
  • excessive amounts of
  • excessive spending
  • excessive use of
Synonyms
  • extreme

    Stronger and more dramatic; 'excessive' is more clinical and measured, while 'extreme' suggests the far end of a scale.

  • disproportionate

    Formal; emphasises unfairness or imbalance compared to what is fitting for the situation.

  • undue

    Formal; describes something unnecessary or unwarranted, especially in legal or bureaucratic contexts.

Antonyms
  • moderate

    Reasonable and within appropriate limits; the opposite of going too far.

  • insufficient

    Not enough, the opposite direction of excess.

Grammar Patterns

excessive + noun (attributive)

be + excessive (predicative)

Usage Note

Always carries a negative judgement — never neutral or positive. In everyday conversation, 'too much' or 'too many' is more natural. Frequent in formal or written contexts such as legal rulings, health advice, financial reports, and disciplinary reviews.

Common Mistakes

The price is excessive expensive.
The price is excessive.' or 'The price is excessively expensive.
'Excessive' is an adjective; the adverb 'excessively' is needed before another adjective.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe something that goes beyond what is normal or acceptable, but they differ in register and emphasis. Excessive is the most neutral and widely used term, covering amounts, behaviours, and actions that are too much (excessive force, excessive rain). Extreme is stronger and more dramatic, often suggesting the far end of a physical or emotional scale (extreme weather, extreme measures). Disproportionate is formal and highlights unfairness or imbalance — the response is too large compared to the cause (disproportionate punishment). Undue is also formal, appearing in legal and bureaucratic writing to mean 'unnecessary or unwarranted' (undue hardship, undue influence). In everyday speech, excessive is the safest choice; extreme adds emotional weight, while the other two belong in formal registers.

excessive ↗extreme ↗disproportionateundue

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • grossly excessive
  • wildly excessive
  • somewhat excessive
  • clearly excessive

Phrases

  • to an excessive degree
  • in excessive quantities

Prepositions

  • excessive for

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Excessive comes from the Latin word 'excessivus', which grew out of 'excedere' — formed from 'ex-' (out) and 'cedere' (to go). So the original image is of 'going out beyond' a boundary or limit. The word entered English in the late 1300s with the same core meaning it has today.