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Someone who is abstemious avoids doing too much of something enjoyable, such as eating or drinking; rather, they consume in a moderate fashion.
Abstinence is the practice of keeping away from or avoiding something you enjoy—such as the physical pleasures of excessive food and drink—usually for health or religious reasons.
Something austere is simple and plain in its style; an austere person is strict and severe with themself.
When a person is speaking or writing in a bombastic fashion, they are very self-centered, extremely showy, and excessively proud.
An egregious mistake, failure, or problem is an extremely bad and very noticeable one.
Someone who is exacting expects others to work very hard and carefully.
An exorbitant price or fee is much higher than what it should be or what is considered reasonable.
An extravaganza is an elaborate production or spectacular display that is meant to entertain, often in an excessive fashion.
Someone who is frugal spends very little money—and even then only on things that are absolutely necessary.
Grandiloquent speech is highly formal, exaggerated, and often seems both silly and hollow because it is expressly used to appear impressive and important.
If something is gratuitous, it is freely given; nevertheless, it is usually unnecessary and can be harmful or upsetting.
Hyperbole is a way of emphasizing something that makes it sound much more impressive or much worse than it actually is.
If you describe ideas as jejune, you are saying they are childish and uninteresting; the adjective jejune also describes those having little experience, maturity, or knowledge.
When you behave with moderation, you live in a balanced and measured way; you do nothing to excess.
Someone is overweening when they are not modest; rather, they think way too much of themselves and let everyone know about it.
A parsimonious person is not willing to give or spend money.
If you have a pathological condition, you are extreme or unreasonable in something that you do.
Someone who behaves in a prodigal way spends a lot of money and/or time carelessly and wastefully with no concern for the future.
A profusion of something is a very large quantity or variety of it.
A qualified statement has been limited, restricted, or changed in some way.
If something bad, such as crime or disease, is rampant, there is a lot of it—and it is increasing in a way that is difficult to control.
If you say that something bad or unpleasant is rife somewhere, you mean that it is very common.
A spartan lifestyle is very simple and severe; it has no luxuries or comforts.
Something that is superfluous is unnecessary; it is more than what is wanted or needed at the current time.
A teetotaler is one who does not drink alcohol.
A feeling that is unbridled is enthusiastic and unlimited in its expression.
An action or deed is unconscionable if it is excessively shameful, unfair, or unjust and its effects are more severe than is reasonable or acceptable.
Usurious loans are made with a high interest rate.
A wanton action deliberately harms someone or damages something for no apparent or good reason.
Adj.
inordinate
in-OHR-dn-it
Context
The children’s play took a vast or inordinate amount of work, much more than the parents had expected. The set and costumes were inordinately complex and thus required huge amounts of money, materials, and time. The director knew that performing the musical would take a lot of effort, but he had no clue that the production required an inordinate or excessive number of volunteers in addition to his usual staff.
Quiz:Try again!
What is an example of an inordinate amount of something?
Almost enough pencils for every student in a classroom to have one.
Tens of thousands of books owned by a single person.
Only three rolls of toilet paper left on the shelves in a store.
InNatural Order? The devastation to the environment caused by the flood was so inordinate that some felt that it was not in the natural order of things; in point of fact, a levy had failed which should have protected the city more from the hurricane.
Examples
The best kind of wealth is to give up inordinate desires.
— Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali poet and Nobel Laureate
Definitive numbers are hard to get, but it is expected by year's end that the embassy will be home to nearly 1,000 Americans from 10 U.S. government agencies, as well as an estimated 600 Iraqi employees, making it one of the largest U.S. missions in the world. With so many bodies around, it'll be difficult to determine exactly who does what, and an inordinate amount of time will be spent deciding on assignments and responsibilities.
—
The Washington Post
An inordinate demand is “against the order” that is usually assumed or expected.
Word Theater
A Series of Unfortunate Events She has missed him an inordinate amount.
The panel shows a small video clip of either the word in actual use or a scene that represents the meaning of a word. This not only breaks up the monotony of studying words but also provides another avenue to strengthen word meaning. Enjoy!
