Adjacent Words

Excess definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EXCESS', n. [L. excessus, from excedo. See Exceed.]
1. Literally, that which exceeds any measure or limit, or which exceeds something else, or a going beyond a just line or point. Hence, superfluity; that which is beyond necessity or wants; as an excess of provisions; excess of light.
2. That which is beyond the common measure, proportion, or due quantity; as the excess of a limb; the excess of bile in the system.
3. Super abundance of any thing.
4. Any transgression of due limits.
5. In morals, any indulgence of appetite, passion or exertion, beyond the rules of God's word, or beyond any rule of propriety; intemperance in gratifications; as excess in eating or drinking; excess of joy; excess of grief; excess of love, or of anger; excess of labor.
6. In arithmetic and geometry, the difference between any two unequal numbers or quantities; that which remains when the lesser number or quantity is taken from the greater.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: more than is needed, desired, or required; "trying to lose excess weight"; "found some extra change lying on the dresser"; "yet another book on heraldry might be thought redundant"; "skills made redundant by technological advance"; "sleeping in the spare room"; "supernumerary ornamentation"; "it was supererogatory of her to gloat"; "delete superfluous (or unnecessary) words"; "extra ribs as well as other supernumerary internal parts"; "surplus cheese distributed to the needy" [syn: excess, extra, redundant, spare, supererogatory, superfluous, supernumerary, surplus] n
1: a quantity much larger than is needed [syn: excess, surplus, surplusage, nimiety]
2: immoderation as a consequence of going beyond sufficient or permitted limits [syn: excess, excessiveness, inordinateness]
3: the state of being more than full [syn: surfeit, excess, overabundance]
4: excessive indulgence; "the child was spoiled by overindulgence" [syn: overindulgence, excess]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French exces, from Late Latin excessus, from Latin, departure, projection, from excedere to exceed Date: 14th century 1. a. the state or an instance of surpassing usual, proper, or specified limits ; superfluity b. the amount or degree by which one thing or quantity exceeds another <an excess of 10 bushels> 2. undue or immoderate indulgence ; intemperance; also an act or instance of intemperance <prevent excesses and abuses by newly created local powers — Albert Shanker> II. adjective Date: 15th century more than the usual, proper, or specified amount III. transitive verb Date: 1971 to eliminate the position of <excessed several teachers because of budget cutbacks>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 the state or an instance of exceeding. 2 the amount by which one quantity or number exceeds another. 3 exceeding of a proper or permitted limit. 4 a the overstepping of the accepted limits of moderation, esp. intemperance in eating or drinking. b (in pl.) outrageous or immoderate behaviour. 5 an extreme or improper degree or extent (an excess of cruelty). 6 part of an insurance claim to be paid by the insured, esp. by prior agreement. --attrib.adj. usu. 1 that exceeds a limited or prescribed amount (excess weight). 2 required as extra payment (excess postage). Phrases and idioms: excess baggage (or luggage) that exceeding a weight allowance and liable to an extra charge. in (or to) excess exceeding the proper amount or degree. in excess of more than; exceeding. Etymology: ME f. OF exces f. L excessus (as EXCEED)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Excess Ex*cess", n. [OE. exces, excess, ecstasy, L. excessus a going out, loss of self-possession, fr. excedere, excessum, to go out, go beyond: cf. F. exc[`e]s. See Exceed.] 1. The state of surpassing or going beyond limits; the being of a measure beyond sufficiency, necessity, or duty; that which exceeds what is usual or prover; immoderateness; superfluity; superabundance; extravagance; as, an excess of provisions or of light. To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, To throw a perfume on the violet, . . . Is wasteful and ridiculous excess. --Shak. That kills me with excess of grief, this with excess of joy. --Walsh. 2. An undue indulgence of the appetite; transgression of proper moderation in natural gratifications; intemperance; dissipation. Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess. --Eph. v. 18. Thy desire . . . leads to no excess That reaches blame. --Milton. 3. The degree or amount by which one thing or number exceeds another; remainder; as, the difference between two numbers is the excess of one over the other. Spherical excess (Geom.), the amount by which the sum of the three angles of a spherical triangle exceeds two right angles. The spherical excess is proportional to the area of the triangle.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. An excess of something is a larger amount than is needed, allowed, or usual. An excess of house plants in a small flat can be oppressive... Polyunsaturated oils are essential for health. Excess is harmful, however. N-VAR: with supp, usu a N of n 2. Excess is used to describe amounts that are greater than what is needed, allowed, or usual. After cooking the fish, pour off any excess fat... = surplus ADJ: ADJ n 3. Excess is behaviour that is unacceptable because it is considered too extreme or immoral. She said she was sick of her life of excess. ...adolescent excess. N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl 4. Excess is used to refer to additional amounts of money that need to be paid for services and activities that were not originally planned or taken into account. (FORMAL) ...a letter demanding an excess fare of £20... ADJ: ADJ n 5. The excess on an insurance policy is a sum of money which the insured person has to pay towards the cost of a claim. The insurance company pays the rest. (BRIT BUSINESS, TECHNICAL) The company wanted £1,800 for a policy with a £400 excess for under-21s. N-COUNT: usu sing 6. In excess of means more than a particular amount. (FORMAL) Avoid deposits in excess of £20,000 in any one account... PREP-PHRASE: PREP amount 7. If you do something to excess, you do it too much. I was reasonably fit, played a lot of tennis, and didn't smoke or drink to excess... PHRASE: PHR after v [disapproval]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Superfluity, redundance, redundancy, superabundance, disproportion, undue amount. 2. Surplus, overplus, remainder. 3. Intemperance, immoderation, over-indulgence, dissoluteness, dissolute behavior or living, dissipation, debauchery. 4. Extravagance, immoderation, overdoing.

Moby Thesaurus

Saturnalia, aggrandizement, amplification, ballyhoo, big talk, blowing up, burlesque, caricature, crapulence, crapulency, crapulousness, de trop, debauchery, dilatation, dilation, disentitlement, dispensable, dissipation, dissoluteness, drunkenness, empty claim, empty title, enhancement, enlargement, exaggerating, exaggeration, excessive, excessiveness, exorbitance, exorbitancy, expansion, expendable, expletive, extortionateness, extra, extravagance, extreme, false claim, fat, glut, gluttony, grandiloquence, gratuitous, heightening, huckstering, hyperbole, hyperbolism, immoderacy, immoderateness, immoderation, impropriety, in excess, inappropriateness, incontinence, indiscipline, indulgence, inflation, inordinacy, inordinateness, intemperance, intemperateness, inundation, invalid claim, lack of claim, leftover, leftovers, magnification, needless, nimiety, no claim, nonessential, outrageousness, overabundance, overage, overbalance, overdoing, overemphasis, overestimation, overflow, overflowing, overgrowth, overindulgence, overkill, overmeasure, overmuch, overpass, overplus, overproduction, overrun, overrunning, overspill, overspreading, overstatement, overstock, oversupply, pleonastic, plethora, plus, preposterousness, prodigality, profuseness, profusion, prolix, puffery, puffing up, redundancy, redundant, remaining, residual, self-indulgence, self-restraint, sensationalism, spare, stretching, superabundance, supererogation, supererogatory, superfluity, superfluous, superiority, superlative, supernumerary, surfeit, surplus, surplusage, swinishness, tall talk, tautologic, tautologous, to spare, too much, too-muchness, touting, travesty, uncalled-for, unconscionableness, unconstraint, uncontrol, undeservedness, undeservingness, undueness, unentitledness, unessential, unmeritedness, unnecessary, unneeded, unreasonableness, unrestraint, verbose