surfeit 1 of 2

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of surfeit
Noun
Panthers general manager Bob Clarke, president Bill Torrey and coach Roger Neilson knew there wouldn’t be a surfeit of offensive talent in the expansion draft. David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 19 June 2025 Image Image In cities across the country, more office buildings have been turned into housing, as officials clamor to solve for the mismatch between a surfeit of outdated office buildings and a lack of housing. Ellen Rosen, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Verb
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 But surfeited with at-home entertainment options, former subscribers are preferring the flexibility of single-ticket sales. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2023 See All Example Sentences for surfeit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surfeit
Noun
  • The question now, with three straight monthly surpluses and the deficit decreasing, is this: What does Trump do?
    Ken Roberts, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025
  • Bespoke pricing takes away this possibility, enabling the seller to seize that consumer surplus for itself.
    George Slover, Time, 6 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • And while May is also a busy month for ESPN and TNT, which in late spring are glutted with live NBA and NHL playoff games, cable as a whole accounted for less than a quarter (24.1%) of all consumption last month.
    Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 20 June 2025
  • The risotto was impeccably cooked, each grain a plump oval glutted with crab stock and a compound butter infused with ginger, shallot Thai chile and tomato.
    Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2025
Noun
  • Remove the hinge pin, coat it lightly with mayonnaise, reinsert it, and wipe off any excess.
    Gabi De la Rosa, Southern Living, 31 July 2025
  • The products come from creators who have exhausted their networks, and from brands looking to align excess with purpose.
    Christine Michel Carter, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025
Verb
  • And the mice who'd come off the low-fat diet to gorge on high-sugar and high-fat foods were, unlike humans, probably not thinking about potential weight gain.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 1 July 2025
  • Trump’s idea of the presidency seems to start with the premise that the entire country is his to gorge on, as the capo di tutti capi, or boss of all bosses.
    Guy Lawson, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2025
Verb
  • Thierry notified me of his satisfaction with another grunt and reached into the pillowy recesses of his fleece to produce a tatty padded envelope stuffed with Euros.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Hasty got stuffed twice at the line, while the rest of the backs were stonewalled once apiece.
    Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 13 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • With the sky purpling, the throng of clients (plus Cher) was sated.
    D. T. Max, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
  • So the Los Angeles Lakers, in desperate need of quality depth to contend in the brutal Western Conference, are left to sate their free-agency desires with the middling likes of Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 2 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Surfeit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surfeit. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

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