Meaning & use
excessively
Last updated
Meaning
adverbnot comparable
To a much greater degree than is sensible, necessary or acceptable.
Grammar: Goes before an adjective or adverb, or before or after a verb: excessively loud, drink excessively.
Patterns
- excessively + adjective
- verb + excessively
The soup was excessively salty, so nobody finished it.
He worries excessively about what other people think.
The hotel charges excessively for even simple services.
Common combinations
- excessively expensive
- The tickets were excessively expensive.
- drink excessively
- Doctors warn people not to drink excessively.
- excessively cautious
- She is excessively cautious about spending money.
- excessively long
- The meeting was excessively long and unfocused.
- excessively proud
- He was excessively proud of his small achievement.
- sweat excessively
- Some people sweat excessively, even in cool rooms.
Synonyms and how they differ
- overly
- Overly is a common, slightly lighter word and is usually put before adjectives, whereas excessively is more formal and can also follow verbs.
- unduly
- Unduly implies something is unjustified or unreasonable, while excessively simply stresses too much.
- immoderately
- Immoderately is formal and stresses lack of self-control or balance, so it fits habits and behavior best.
- too
- Too is the everyday short word for more than needed, but excessively is stronger and sounds like criticism.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: excessively or exceedingly?
excessively vs exceedingly
Exceedingly means extremely, as a neutral intensifier, but excessively means more than is acceptable, usually as a criticism.
Practice
The coach said the players had trained ___, which left several of them injured.
Choose one answer.
Excessively means to a harmful degree beyond what is sensible, which explains the injuries. The other adverbs describe sensible or light training.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “excessively”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.