redundancy

noun

re·​dun·​dan·​cy ri-ˈdən-dən(t)-sē 

plural redundancies

1

a

: the quality or state of being redundant : superfluity

b

: the use of redundant components

also : such components

c

chiefly British : dismissal from a job especially by layoff

2

: profusion, abundance

3

a

: superfluous repetition : prolixity

b

: an act or instance of needless repetition

4

: the part of a message that can be eliminated without loss of essential information

Did you know?

Redundancy, closely related to redound, has stayed close to the original meaning of "overflow" or "more than necessary". Avoiding redundancy is one of the prime rules of good writing. ""In the modern world of today" contains a redundancy; so does "He died of fatal wounds" and "For the mutual benefit of both parties". But redundancy doesn't just occur in language. "Data redundancy" means keeping the same computer data in more than one place as a safety measure, and a backup system in an airplane may provide redundancy, again for the sake of safety.

Synonyms

• repetition
• repetitiveness
• verbosity
• wordiness
• prolixity
• diffusion
• diffuseness
• wordage
• logorrhea
• circumlocution

Examples of redundancy in a Sentence

Avoid redundancy in your writing.

Try to avoid using redundancies in your writing.

The design incorporates several redundancies.

a system with a high level of redundancy

The restructuring is expected to result in the redundancy of several hundred workers.

The workers are now facing redundancy.

Recent Examples on the Web

Design – Integrates safety principles, redundancy, and fault tolerance into the AV system's architecture and software. —Richard Bishop, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025

Good Morning Britain journalist Noel Phillips is expected to leave the breakfast show after more than four years amid sweeping redundancies across ITV‘s daytime brands. —Jake Kanter, Deadline, 31 July 2025

There’s a usefulness to showing this routine, especially as the line between what’s real and unreal blurs for Max, but the redundancy eventually wears on our own psyches, making the film feel like an unfortunate waiting game. —Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2025

The soundtrack shifts toward lighter indie rock and away from brain-numbing redundancies, while the story treats those imaginary genre sketches like an accidental off-ramp left in the rearview. —Ben Travers, IndieWire, 10 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

redundancy

noun

re·​dun·​dan·​cy ri-ˈdən-dən-sē 

plural redundancies

1

: the quality or state of being redundant

2

a

: the use of unnecessary words

b

: an act or instance of needless repetition