desmesurada

Desmesurada is the feminine form of the Spanish adjective desmesurado and is used to describe something that exceeds reasonable limits in size, quantity, intensity, or importance. It signals disproportion or excess and can modify nouns referring to concrete things as well as to abstract ideas, for example a desmesurada deuda (an excessive debt) or una ambición desmesurada (an exaggerated ambition). The related noun desmesura denotes the state or quality of being excessive.

Etymology and related forms: desmesurada derives from des- (a prefix indicating negation or reversal) and mesura (measurement), which in turn comes from the Latin mensūra meaning measurement. The related verb desmesurar means to exceed measure or to exaggerate, and the noun desmesura designates the act or result of such excess. The masculine form is desmesurado, and the noun desmesura pairs with feminine nouns in agreement with gender.

Usage and nuance: desmesurada is common in literary, journalistic, and everyday language to emphasize magnitude or severity. Its connotation can be evaluative or critical, depending on context, often conveying that an action, feeling, or quantity is unjustifiably large. It may appear in expressions like “gasto desmesurado” or “capacidad desmesurada,” and can be used with adverbs such as “de forma desmesurada” to denote the manner of excess.

See also: desmesurado, desproporcionado, excesivo, exagerado, desmedido.