exorbitant

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UK/ɪɡˈzɔːbɪtənt/UK/ɛɡˈzɔːbɪtənt/US/ɪɡˈzoɹbətənt/US/ɛɡˈzoɹbətənt/

adjective

Exceeding proper limits; excessive or unduly high; extravagant.

“It’s a nice car, but they are charging an exorbitant price for it.”

Meanings

adjectiveexorbitant (comparative more exorbitant, superlative most exorbitant)

comparative more exorbitant · superlative most exorbitant

  1. Exceeding proper limits; excessive or unduly high; extravagant.

    It’s a nice car, but they are charging an exorbitant price for it.

    5 more examples

    You also have to pay exorbitant interest if you have credit card debt.

    But whatever might be the internal thoughts of Macedonian officers, they held their peace before Alexander [the Great], whose formidable character and exorbitant self-estimation would tolerate no criticism.

    1856, George Grote, chapter XCIV, in History of Greece, volume XII, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, part II (Continuation of Historical Greece), page 282

    Love, being an extremely exacting usurer (a sense of exorbitant profit, spiritually, by an exchange of hearts, being at the bottom of pure passions, as that of exorbitant profit, bodily or materially, is at the bottom of those of lower atmosphere), every morning his feelings were as sensitive as the money-market in calculations upon his chances.

    1874, Thomas Hardy, “Gabriel’s Resolve—The Visit—The Mistake”, in Far from the Madding Crowd. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, page 38

    In addition, many low-income people are “unbanked” (not served by a financial institution), and thus nearly eaten alive by exorbitant fees.

    2015 January 19, Charles M[cRay] Blow, “How Expensive It Is to Be Poor”, in The New York Times (A section), New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Apr 2021, page 19

    As I’ve pointed out, the price being asked for SpaceX shares was exorbitant, and it rose even higher on its first day of trading.

    2026 June 13, Jeff Sommer, “Mega I.P.O. Frenzy Could Be a Harbinger of a Stock Bubble”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

    Synonyms: extortionate, inordinate, disproportionate, exorbiant, extortionable, extortionate, extortious, extravagant

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveExceeding proper limits; excessive or unduly high; extravagant.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivegreatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰ
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰs
  3. Proto-Italic*eks
  4. Latinex
  5. Latinex-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*h₃erbʰ-
  7. Latinorbita
  8. Latinexorbitō
  9. Late Latinexorbitāns
  10. Old Frenchexorbitant
  11. Middle Englishexorbitant
  12. Englishexorbitant

From Middle English exorbitant, through Old French from Late Latin exorbitāns, present active participle of exorbitō (“to go out of the track”), from ex (“out”) + orbita (“wheel-track”); see orbit. Compare French exorbitant.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian прекален
  • прекален (prekalen)exceeding proper limits
Chinese Mandarin 過高的 /过高的, 過度的 /过度的
  • 過高的 /过高的 (guògāo de)exceeding proper limits
  • 過度的 /过度的 (guòdù de)exceeding proper limits
Czech přemrštěný
  • přemrštěnýexceeding proper limits
Danish eksorbitant
  • eksorbitantexceeding proper limits
Dutch exorbitant, buitensporig
  • exorbitantexceeding proper limits
  • buitensporigexceeding proper limits
Finnish kohtuuton, yletön
  • kohtuutonexceeding proper limits
  • yletönexceeding proper limits
French exorbitant
  • exorbitantexceeding proper limits
German exorbitant, maßlos
  • exorbitantexceeding proper limits
  • maßlosexceeding proper limits
Irish as cuimse ard
  • as cuimse ardexceeding proper limits
Italian esorbitante
  • esorbitanteexceeding proper limits
Japanese とんでもない, 法外な
  • とんでもない (tondemonai)exceeding proper limits
  • 法外な (hōgai na)exceeding proper limits
Korean 터무니없는, 과도한
  • 터무니없는 (teomunieomneun)exceeding proper limits
  • 과도한 (gwadohan)exceeding proper limits
Malay melampau, lebih daripada biasa
  • melampauexceeding proper limits
  • lebih daripada biasaexceeding proper limits
Norwegian ublu
  • ubluexceeding proper limits
Persian گزاف
  • گزاف (gazâf)exceeding proper limits
Polish wygórowany
  • wygórowanyexceeding proper limits
Portuguese exorbitante
  • exorbitanteexceeding proper limits
Russian чрезме́рный, безме́рный
  • чрезме́рный (črezmérnyj)exceeding proper limits
  • безме́рный (bezmérnyj)exceeding proper limits
  • непоме́рный (nepomérnyj)exceeding proper limits
  • чрезвыча́йный (črezvyčájnyj)exceeding proper limits
Spanish exorbitante
  • exorbitanteexceeding proper limits
Swedish omåttlig, orimlig
  • omåttligexceeding proper limits
  • orimligexceeding proper limits
Thai ลิบลิ่ว, แพงลิบลิ่ว
  • ลิบลิ่วexceeding proper limits
  • แพงลิบลิ่วexceeding proper limits
Turkish fahiş
  • fahişexceeding proper limits
Cite this entry
APA

exorbitant. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exorbitant

MLA

“exorbitant.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exorbitant. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “exorbitant,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exorbitant.

Source: exorbitant on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.