surfeit

noun sur·feit \ ˈsər-fət \

Updated on: 4 May 2018

Definition of surfeit

1 : an overabundant supply : excess

2 : an intemperate or immoderate indulgence in something (such as food or drink)

3 : disgust caused by excess

See surfeit defined for English-language learners

See surfeit defined for kids

surfeit was our Word of the Day on 10/16/2012. Hear the podcast!

Examples of surfeit in a Sentence

ended up with a surfeit of volunteers who simply got in each other's way

Recent Examples of surfeit from the Web

And that’s how the book reads, as the record of an obsession, with the surfeit of granular detail, the loose anecdotal structure and the numerous cul-de-sacs that implies.

— john williams, New York Times, "1968 Revisited: A Boston Commune and a Van Morrison Classic," 12 Apr. 2018
This is an abiding complaint among young men in a country with a surfeit of them.

— steven lee myers, New York Times, "A Dance for Tibetan New Year, Then 17 Hours in Custody," 18 Feb. 2018
Dalba’s contention is that photosynthesis on a planet’s surface, which generates a surfeit of molecular oxygen, is the only thing that can account for these atomic O+ ions in a planet’s ionosphere.

— diana gitig, Ars Technica, "Oxygen ions may be an easy-to-track sign of life on exoplanets," 16 Feb. 2018
The redevelopment's second phase will focus on the town's surfeit of landmark architecture: 78 historic buildings within just 12 square blocks, eight of which are recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

— maria carter, Country Living, "This Small Southern Town Is Spending $100 Million to Keep People from Leaving," 11 Aug. 2017
There was a surfeit of expertise on the general question of Russia’s apparent involvement in the DNC hacking when Mook spoke to Tapper, but assertions that the intent was to aid Trump were, at the time, largely speculative in the public sphere.

— philip bump, Washington Post, "The Russian interference fight was encapsulated in one CNN show in July 2016," 5 Mar. 2018
Your internal gyro makes up the difference, aided by the Ferrari’s rear-biased weight distribution (54 percent of the mass is claimed to sit on the rear axle) and surfeit of front-end grip.

— alexander stoklosa, Car and Driver, "2018 Ferrari Portofino," 20 Feb. 2018
On the plus side, all these closings will be more than offset by the surfeit of openings.

— michael klein, Philly.com, "Let's Eat: The January restaurant shakeup," 24 Jan. 2018
And yet these companies increasingly do not see IPOs as a viable exit option due to the costs—both real and regulatory—and the relative surfeit of late-stage financing available on the private markets.

— kyle jensen, Fortune, "Commentary: Spotify’s Unusual IPO Came at the Perfect Time," 12 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'surfeit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of surfeit

Middle English surfet, from Anglo-French, from surfaire to overdo, from sur- + faire to do, from Latin facere — more at do

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

surfeit Synonyms

surfeit

verb

Definition of surfeit

transitive verb

: to feed, supply, or give to surfeit

intransitive verb

archaic : to indulge to satiety in a gratification (such as indulgence of the appetite or senses)

—

surfeiter

noun

Examples of surfeit in a Sentence

having surfeited ourselves on raw oysters, we had to decline the rest of the restaurant's offerings

First Known Use of surfeit

14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

surfeit Synonyms

Synonyms

cram, glut, gorge, sate, stuff;

Near Antonyms

diet, fast;

Related Words

gobble, gormandize, pig out;

gulp, guzzle;

cloy, fill;

banquet, feast, regale;

Synonym Discussion of surfeit

satiate, sate, surfeit, cloy, pall, glut, gorge mean to fill to repletion. satiate and sate may sometimes imply only complete satisfaction but more often suggest repletion that has destroyed interest or desire.

- years of globe-trotting had satiated their interest in travel
- readers were sated with sensationalistic stories

surfeit implies a nauseating repletion.

- surfeited themselves with junk food

cloy stresses the disgust or boredom resulting from such surfeiting.

- sentimental pictures that cloy after a while

pall emphasizes the loss of ability to stimulate interest or appetite.

- a life of leisure eventually begins to pall

glut implies excess in feeding or supplying.

- a market glutted with diet books

gorge suggests glutting to the point of bursting or choking.

- gorged themselves with chocolate

SURFEIT Defined for English Language Learners

surfeit

noun

Definition of surfeit for English Language Learners

: an amount that is too much or more than you need

Learn More about surfeit

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for surfeit Spanish Central: Translation of surfeit Nglish: Translation of surfeit for Spanish speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up surfeit? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

surfeit

Definition of surfeit

surfeit was our Word of the Day on 10/16/2012. Hear the podcast!

Examples of surfeit in a Sentence

Recent Examples of surfeit from the Web

Origin and Etymology of surfeit

surfeit Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

surfeit

Definition of surfeit

surfeiter

Examples of surfeit in a Sentence

First Known Use of surfeit

surfeit Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of surfeit

SURFEIT Defined for English Language Learners

surfeit

Definition of surfeit for English Language Learners

Learn More about surfeit

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

A Matter-of-Fact Look at 'Deadpan'

9 Words from the Magical Realm

Words Used by Nabokov Quiz

Trending: Melania Trump Undergoes 'Embolization'

Ghost Word