Meaning & use
outrance
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Meanings
noununcountablearchaicliterary
The act of going beyond what is reasonable or expected, especially in fighting or conflict; extreme excess.
Grammar: Uncountable, so it does not take 'a' or a plural: you say 'to fight to outrance', not 'an outrance'.
Patterns
- to outrance
- fight to outrance
- go to outrance
The knights swore to fight to outrance, sparing no one.
In the old chronicles, the siege was pressed to outrance until the walls crumbled.
Her pursuit of justice was described as to outrance, relentless and without compromise.
noununcountablearchaicliterary
Excessive or unrestrained behavior that goes past normal limits.
Grammar: Still uncountable; often used with 'to' to show the extreme point reached.
Patterns
- to outrance
- beyond outrance
The party's rhetoric went to outrance, alienating even its supporters.
He criticized the spending as outrance, far beyond what the project needed.
Common combinations
- to outrance
- The two armies fought to outrance, neither willing to retreat.
- fight to outrance
- In the epic, the hero and his rival fight to outrance for the throne.
- press to outrance
- The commander pressed the attack to outrance, ignoring calls for mercy.
- go to outrance
- His ambition went to outrance, driving him to ruin.
Synonyms and how they differ
- excess
- Excess is the general modern word for too much of something; outrance is archaic and usually limited to combat or literary contexts.
- extremity
- Extremity can mean a very severe situation or the furthest point; outrance emphasizes going beyond limits, often in a fight.
Opposites
Word family
- outré adjective
- Borrowed from French, meaning very unusual or shocking; it shares the idea of going beyond what is normal.
Commonly confused: outrance or outrage? outrance or entrance?
outrance vs outrage
Outrage means a strong feeling of anger or shock, or a very cruel act; outrance is about fighting to the extreme. They sound similar but are unrelated in meaning.
outrance vs entrance
Entrance is a way in or the act of entering; outrance is archaic and means extreme excess. The spelling difference is one letter.
Practice
In the historical novel, the knights fought to outrance. What does 'outrance' mean here?
Choose one answer.
The phrase 'to outrance' means to the extreme, without holding back. Option 0 is wrong because a truce is the opposite of fighting to the utmost; option 2 is wrong because 'outrance' does not mean entertainment; option 3 is wrong because it describes equipment, not intensity.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “outrance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.