Synonyms of surfeit

surfeit 1 of 2

noun

ˈsər-fət 

as in surplus

the state or an instance of going beyond what is usual, proper, or needed

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• surplus
• excess
• abundance
• overflow
• overabundance
• sufficiency
• plethora
• superabundance
• oversupply
• superfluity
• surplusage
• plus
• plenty
• bellyful
• overage
• overmuch
• fat
• bounty
• redundancy
• overplus
• overkill
• profusion
• overproduction
• plentitude
• overstock

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• deficiency
• deficit
• insufficiency
• lack
• scarcity
• dearth
• undersupply
• want

surfeit

2 of 2

verb

as in to glut

to fill with food to capacity

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• glut
• gorge
• stuff
• sate
• fill
• cram
• feast
• gobble
• regale
• pig out
• guzzle
• gulp
• gormandize
• banquet
• cloy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• diet
• fast

Synonym Chooser

How is the word surfeit different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of surfeit are cloy, glut, gorge, pall, sate, and satiate. While all these words mean "to fill to repletion," surfeit implies a nauseating repletion.

surfeited themselves with junk food

When could cloy be used to replace surfeit?

While in some cases nearly identical to surfeit, cloy stresses the disgust or boredom resulting from such surfeiting.

sentimental pictures that cloy after a while

In what contexts can glut take the place of surfeit?

While the synonyms glut and surfeit are close in meaning, glut implies excess in feeding or supplying.

a market glutted with diet books

Where would gorge be a reasonable alternative to surfeit?

Although the words gorge and surfeit have much in common, gorge suggests glutting to the point of bursting or choking.

gorged themselves with chocolate

When might pall be a better fit than surfeit?

The synonyms pall and surfeit are sometimes interchangeable, but pall emphasizes the loss of ability to stimulate interest or appetite.

a life of leisure eventually begins to pall

How do satiate and sate relate to one another, in the sense of surfeit?

Both 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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of surfeit

Noun

The galaxy sports not only a bright newborn jet but also a surrounding surfeit of older material blasted out by past AGN episodes. —K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2026

Drummer Stuart Springthorpe is the secret co-MVP of Watching, keeping its molasses-slow time and inserting infrequent but always impactful tom-heavy fills into the album’s surfeit of negative space. —Brad Sanders, Pitchfork, 17 Jan. 2026

Verb

Here are his first eight lines, in English and Hungarian (thanks to Ádám Nádasdy): Orsino If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it, that surfeiting The appetite may sicken and so die. —Literary Hub, 22 Apr. 2026

As a theater critic surfeited with plays, radio dramas worked best for me as an unplanned diversion in my car. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2025

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