exorbitant
adjective
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How was exorbitant first used?
Not all who wander are lost, but at one time such errant souls might have been called exorbitant. Exorbitant traces back to the Late Latin verb exorbitare, meaning “to deviate,” which in turn was formed by combining the prefix ex- (“out of”) with the noun orbita, which referred to the rut or track of a wheel. While exorbitant could describe something moving erratically—physically straying from its usual course—it was also applied figuratively to other “wanderers,” such as off-topic remarks, powers going beyond the scope of the law, and even sinful people, i.e., those no longer on the straight and narrow. Eventually, exorbitant developed its extended sense as a synonym of excessive, and it is now used to describe that which exceeds appropriate or customary limits in intensity, quality, amount, or size.
Synonyms
Examples of exorbitant in a Sentence
Hannah Beech, Time, 27 Oct. 2003
As with the black truffle, foie gras is as exorbitant ($52 a pound) as it is decadent (one gram of foie gras can reportedly be 900 calories).
—Heather Morgan, Traveler, April 2000
… I recommend that the Congress adopt … [a] continuation of the law for the renegotiation of war contracts—which will prevent exorbitant profits and assure fair prices to the Government.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt 11 Jan. 1944,
in Nothing to Fear by B. D. Zevin, 1946
They were charged exorbitant rates for phone calls.
the cost of our stay was so exorbitant you would have thought that we had bought the hotel and not just spent a few nights there
Grant Stringer, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
While people can buy coverage directly through an insurer, the cost is often exorbitant and usually not an option for undocumented immigrants, Pillai said.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, 1 Nov. 2024
The Bronx Bombers collected titles in 1977 and 1978 after signing Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter to exorbitant contracts by the standards of the era.
—Justin Birnbaum, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
The 2021 report by CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt said private operators were charging exorbitant sums to Afghans desperate to leave their country after the U.S. withdrawal.
—Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for exorbitant 
Dictionary Entries Near exorbitant
Cite this Entry
“Exorbitant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exorbitant. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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exorbitant
adjective
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