Excess

/ˈɛksɛs/ · noun

Meaning

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..

Definitions by Sense

1. 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.
2. The degree or amount by which one thing or number exceeds another; remainder.
3. An act of eating or drinking more than enough.
4. (geometry) Spherical excess, 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.
5. (British, insurance) A condition on an insurance policy by which the insured pays for a part of the claim.
6. More than is normal, necessary or specified.
7. (US, transitive) To declare (an employee) surplus to requirements, such that he or she might not be given work.

Example Sentences

The excess of heavy water was given away to the neighbouring country.

That kills me with excess of grief, this with excess of joy.

To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, To throw a perfume on the violet, […] Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.

[...] after the original Victorian station was demolished and then entombed in concrete in the 1960s, Birmingham New Street became a byword for the worst excesses of the much-loathed Brutalist architecture so widely used to reconstruct inner-city post-war Britain.

The difference between two numbers is the excess of one over the other.

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess.

Fair Angel, thy desire . . . . . . leads to no excess That reaches blame

In 2006, I was excessed because my program had to make a few cuts and a new, inexperienced supervisor decided that he couldn’t handle a knowledgeable older teacher so he removed me.

Synonyms for excess

Antonyms for excess

Related Words

Word Forms

• excesses
• excessing
• excessed

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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