as in extra
being over what is needed
cleared off all the superfluous stuff on his desk to make room for the new computer
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Recent Examples of superfluous
My small room seemed to be visibly clouded by the stink of my body and the stink of my superfluous thinking.
—
Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
Like a sloppy writer adding superfluous words, other jacket companies often add doo-dads to their jackets that look good in marketing materials but make no difference in the performance.
—Jakob Schiller, Outside, 16 Feb. 2026
In the brightly billboarded carcass of a West Coast city, private security shields the corporate enclaves of a tech élite from the shantytowns of the economically superfluous.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Clé de Peau Beauté Precious Gold Vitality Serum The gold in this serum’s name is not superfluous or simply a nod to the bottle’s luxe color.
—Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for superfluous
Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
Like a sloppy writer adding superfluous words, other jacket companies often add doo-dads to their jackets that look good in marketing materials but make no difference in the performance.
—Jakob Schiller, Outside, 16 Feb. 2026
In the brightly billboarded carcass of a West Coast city, private security shields the corporate enclaves of a tech élite from the shantytowns of the economically superfluous.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Clé de Peau Beauté Precious Gold Vitality Serum The gold in this serum’s name is not superfluous or simply a nod to the bottle’s luxe color.
—Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for superfluous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for superfluous
Adjective
-
Minnelli haggled with doctors for extra pills, was left home alone with her infant sister, and once used garden shears to slice open a screen window when Garland locked herself in a bathroom, threatening to overdose.—
Matt Weinstock,
New Yorker,
25 Mar. 2026
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For now, Hill isn’t making any specific recommendations for how to allocate the extra cash.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The state’s Surplus Land Act requires, in many situations, that local governments selling excess property prioritize affordable housing and give such developers the first pass at negotiating for the land.—
Victoria Le,
Oc Register,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Now, his legendary rock 'n' roll excess takes center stage in the documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
At the end of both World War I and World War II, combatant nations, both victorious and defeated, found themselves with hundreds of thousands of tons of surplus munitions.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Mar. 2026
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More than 91% of the surplus heat is getting stored in the oceans, where heat content reached a record high last year.—
Andrew Freedman,
CNN Money,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Gardner was kept busy tossing out his hat, some spare boots, flashlight, and other gear to mark the places at which the meat was being jettisoned.—
Dave Duffey,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
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The country will have roughly 400 gigawatts of spare power capacity by 2030, equal to three times what the world will need to meet data center demands, according to Goldman Sachs.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Each side said the edits only removed unnecessary portions and did not change the events shown.—
Amelia Mugavero,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
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The effort would assess state departments and gather feedback from public employees to identify inefficiencies and reduce unnecessary spending.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Superfluous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/superfluous. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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