Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree; extraordinary, exceptional, or immense. It describes something that greatly surpasses normal limits or expectations.

Usage and Examples

• Adjective:
  • The project required exceeding effort from the entire team to meet the deadline.
  • She showed exceeding kindness by helping the stranger without hesitation.
  • We were grateful for their exceeding generosity during the fundraiser.

Advanced Usage

• "exceeding" as a participial adjective: Often used to modify nouns directly, emphasizing an extreme quality.
  • The exceeding complexity of the problem baffled the experts.
• Formal/Literary Context: More common in formal, literary, or somewhat archaic usage. In modern everyday English, synonyms like "extraordinary," "exceptional," or "great" are more frequent.
  • They traveled with exceeding care through the treacherous mountains.

Variants and Related Words

• Exceed (verb): To be greater than; to go beyond the limits of.
  • The results exceeded our wildest expectations.
• Exceedingly (adverb): To an extreme degree; very.
  • The movie was exceedingly long but captivating.
• Excess (noun): An amount that is more than necessary, permitted, or desirable.
  • The excess of sugar in the recipe made it too sweet.

Synonyms

• Exceptional: Unusually good; standing out.
• Extraordinary: Very unusual or remarkable.
• Prodigious: Remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree.
• Immense: Extremely large or great, especially in scale or degree.

Antonyms

• Average: Typical or normal.
• Ordinary: With no special or distinctive features; normal.
• Moderate: Average in amount, intensity, or degree.

Notes on Usage

• The adjective "exceeding" is less common in contemporary spoken English than its adverb form "exceedingly" or the verb "exceed". It carries a formal tone.
• It is typically used before a noun (as an attributive adjective) and is not commonly used after a linking verb (as a predicative adjective). For example, "exceeding darkness" is more natural than "the darkness was exceeding."

Adjective

1. far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree
   • a night of exceeding darkness
   • an exceptional memory
   • olympian efforts to save the city from bankruptcy
   • the young Mozart's prodigious talents