to a fault

English

Pronunciation

Audio (General Australian): (file)

Adverb

(idiomatic) To an excessive degree; extremely; counterproductively.
Coordinate terms: to an extent; see also Thesaurus:to the full

I am trusting to a fault.
- 1710, Issac Norris, Friendly Advice to the Inhabitants of Pensilvania, Andrew Bradford (Philadelphia), p. 2,
  He also had that good qualification, of a moderate expectation, almost to a fault.
- 1883, Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi, ch. 34 "Tough Yarns,"
  These mosquitoes . . . are feeble, insignificant in size, diffident to a fault.
- 1887, Charles Darwin, chapter 3, in The Autobiography of Charles Darwin:
  Fitz-Roy's character was a singular one, with very many noble features: he was devoted to his duty, generous to a fault, bold, determined, and indomitably energetic.
- 1904, Rex Ellingwood Beach, “Pardners”, in Pardners:
  Madam, I'm as gentle as a jellyfish, and peaceful to a fault.
- 2001 February 13, Aparisim Ghosh, “Subcontinental Drift: Shining Star”, in Time:
  Self-deprecating to a fault, he refuses any praise for his work.

Usage notes

"To a fault" is ordinarily used to modify an adjective which describes some desirable or otherwise positive characteristic of a person. Sometimes the expression functions as a strong intensifier, meaning "extremely." Often, however, the expression is used to indicate that the person possesses or exhibits that characteristic in a measure which can reasonably be regarded as disproportionate, unwise, over the top, counterproductive, or annoying.

Translations

to an excessive degree; extremely — see also excessively,‎ extremely

Finnish: liiaksi asti
French: à l’excès (fr)
Hungarian: túlzottan/túlságosan (is), túlontúl (hu)
Spanish: hasta decir basta

References

"to a fault" in the Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
"to a fault" in the Wordsmyth Dictionary-Thesaurus © Wordsmyth 2002.
Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989. See "to a fault," under "fault (n.)."
Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996. See "to a fault," under "fault."