excess
noun · adjective · verb
Simple meaning
Immoderation as a consequence of going beyond sufficient or allow limits.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehksesSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɛksɛs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Immoderation as a consequence of going beyond sufficient or permitted limits
The state of surpassing or going beyond a limit; the state of being beyond sufficiency, necessity, or duty; more than what is usual or proper.
An act of eating or drinking more than enough.
The degree or amount by which one thing or number exceeds another; remainder.
adjective
More than is normal, necessary or specified.
verb
ustransitive
To declare (an employee) surplus to requirements, such that he or she might not be given work.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Immoderation as a consequence of going beyond sufficient or permitted limits
Used this way, excess is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: more than is normal or necessary or specified
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.