inordinate

adjective

in·​or·​di·​nate in-ˈȯr-də-nət 

-ˈȯrd-nət

1

: exceeding reasonable limits : immoderate

2

archaic : disorderly, unregulated

inordinately adverb

inordinateness noun

Did you know?

Although today it describes something that exceeds reasonable limits, inordinate used to be applied to what does not conform to the expected or desired order of things. That sense, synonymous with disorderly and unregulated, is no longer in use, but it offers a hint as to the origins of inordinate. The word traces back to the Latin verb ordinare, meaning “to arrange,” combined with the negating prefix in-. Ordinare is also the ancestor of such English words as coordination, ordain, ordination, and subordinate. The Latin root comes from the noun ordo, meaning “order” or “arrangement,” from which the English word order and its derivatives originate.

Synonyms

• baroque
• devilish
• excessive
• exorbitant
• extravagant
• extreme
• fancy
• immoderate
• insane
• intolerable
• lavish
• overdue
• overextravagant
• overmuch
• overweening
• plethoric
• steep
• stiff
• towering
• unconscionable
• undue
• unmerciful

Choose the Right Synonym for inordinate

excessive, immoderate, inordinate, extravagant, exorbitant, extreme mean going beyond a normal limit.

excessive implies an amount or degree too great to be reasonable or acceptable.

excessive punishment

immoderate implies lack of desirable or necessary restraint.

immoderate spending

inordinate implies an exceeding of the limits dictated by reason or good judgment.

inordinate pride

extravagant implies an indifference to restraints imposed by truth, prudence, or good taste.

extravagant claims for the product

exorbitant implies a departure from accepted standards regarding amount or degree.

exorbitant prices

extreme may imply an approach to the farthest limit possible or conceivable but commonly means only to a notably high degree.

extreme shyness

Examples of inordinate in a Sentence

I waited an inordinate amount of time.

They have had an inordinate number of problems with the schedule.

Recent Examples on the Web

And that was before the 34-year-old founded Total Running Productions, the YouTube channel which spends an inordinate amount of time focusing on the granular details of professional track and field to the delight of nearly a million subscribers, many of which are a new generation of fans. —Cory Mull, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2024

Though simple for a human to grasp, this concept is nontrivial for a computer to learn and thus would require inordinate amounts of training data and time. —Somdeb Majumdar, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Nov. 2024

Link said duplication of ballots is an area that generates an inordinate amount of suspicion from election deniers. —Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 16 Sep. 2024

Advertisement One great advantage to this inordinate model is rejection of FOMO mania. —Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English inordinat, from Latin inordinatus, from in- + ordinatus, past participle of ordinare to arrange — more at ordain

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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Kids Definition

inordinate

adjective

in·​or·​di·​nate in-ˈȯrd-ᵊn-ət 

-ˈȯrd-nət

: going beyond reasonable limits : immoderate

an inordinate curiosity

inordinately adverb