Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adverb To an advanced or unusual degree; extremely.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To a very great degree; in a degree beyond what is usual; greatly; very much; extremely.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb To a very great degree; beyond what is usual; surpassingly. It signifies more than very.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adverb To a vastly great extent or degree.
  • adverb To an extreme or unusual degree, extent, etc.; extremely

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb to an extreme degree

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

exceeding +‎ -ly

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Examples

  • Diligence (Latin, Industria) (ethics, brought the term exceedingly in vogue, opposes Sloth, Latin Acedia): A zealous thinking hereby to draw the philosophers to and careful nature in one's actions and Christianity, who aspired after such a work.

    Recently Uploaded Slideshows 2008

  • "Don't believe a word he says," interrupts Madame Ashley, springing suddenly to her feet, and commencing to pour out her phials of wrath on the head of the poor parson, whom she accuses of being a suspicious and extremely unprofitable frequenter of her house, which she describes as exceedingly respectable.

    An Outcast or, Virtue and Faith

  • This does bring up a point that has certainly been debated for years, if not centuries, and that is whether, except in exceedingly rare cases, books that hew closer to the realities of human emotions and experiences can ever be wildly popular.

    Experience… and Popularity in the Novel « L.E. Modesitt, Jr. – The Official Website 2008

  • This does bring up a point that has certainly been debated for years, if not centuries, and that is whether, except in exceedingly rare cases, books that hew closer to the realities of human emotions and experiences can ever be wildly popular.

    March « 2008 « L.E. Modesitt, Jr. – The Official Website 2008

  • Almost all of his stories involve people behaving badly, and doing so in exceedingly clever ways.

    Roald Dahl: Master of macabre misdirection… and children’s stories! « Skulls in the Stars 2007

  • Nasara, I remain exceedingly critical of Clinton foreign policy.

    Matthew Yglesias » The Clinton Rose 2007

  • I think it should be applied in exceedingly rare cases.

    Think Progress » ThinkFast AM: June 22, 2006 2006

  • The Damp Fellows (who must have been in exceedingly good shape beneath their tailored trench coats) beat me by a length or two, but the teenage girl was a whiny smoker and I left her in the dust, despite my advanced decrepitude.

    panic! at the bus stop 2006

  • The situation is, in short, exceedingly challenging, though, as I will briefly explain, there has been progress in several areas in recent months despite the sensational attacks by al Qaeda, which have, of course, been significant blows to our effort and which cause psychological damage that is typically even greater than their physical damage.

    CNN Transcript Apr 26, 2007 2007

  • Perhaps this would be the perfect thing for a certain exceedingly wealthy local musical group to endow.

    UVa Apologizes to WVU for Pep Band at cvillenews.com 2002

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