exorbitant
adjective
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How Was exorbitant First Used?
The first use of "exorbitant" in English was "wandering or deviating from the normal or ordinary course." That sense is now archaic, but it provides a hint as to the origins of "exorbitant": the word derives from Late Latin exorbitans, the present participle of the verb exorbitare, meaning "to deviate." "Exorbitare" in turn was formed by combining the prefix ex-, meaning "out of," with the noun orbita, meaning "track of a wheel or "rut." ("Orbita" itself traces back to "orbis," the Latin word for "disk" or "hoop.") In the 15th century "exorbitant" came to refer to something which fell outside of the normal or intended scope of the law. Eventually, it developed an extended sense as a synonym of "excessive."
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
Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
The country is lifting its exorbitant tariffs on Australian wine, the Associated Press reported.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2024
In 2017, Department of Corrections officials went to the state Capitol to warn lawmakers that medical costs were taking up an exorbitant portion of their budget.
—ProPublica, 28 Mar. 2024
The fees for evacuation are often exorbitant sums ranging from $6,000 to $12,000 per person, and those looking to flee must also navigate scammers and misinformation with no guarantee of success, according to sources who spoke with TIME, as well as recent media reports.
—TIME, 25 Mar. 2024
These challenges are only exacerbated by the exorbitant cost of living in Silicon Valley.
—Andre V. Chapman, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2024
Medical schools are notoriously expensive, often saddling doctors with exorbitant student loans.
—Nacha Cattan, Fortune, 26 Feb. 2024
International woes Executives at the company have complained about issues like weak market demand, exorbitant prices, and internal tension over how quickly BYD should chase success in the European market, according to The Wall Street Journal.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024
This is likely why Reddit has made moves like charging an exorbitant amount of money for the tools developers use to access the platform’s data, effectively killing third-party apps.
—Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 9 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'exorbitant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Exorbitant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exorbitant. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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exorbitant
adjective
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