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
The surfeit of interested workers has not alleviated the labor shortage. Emily Witt, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2025 Under Lightfoot, the district benefited from a surfeit of federal stimulus dollars that went to hiring. Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 4 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
  • Today, the company focuses on securing land with surplus electricity — renewable, solar, wind, nuclear, grid or off-grid — and reliable internet connectivity.
    Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 20 June 2025
  • At the end of the Cryogenian, when the ice melted and the frozen continents thawed, a surplus of nutrient-rich meltwater flooded Earth.
    David Bressan, Forbes.com, 20 June 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
  • The lavish display of money and excess has provoked backlash from local residents and environmental demonstrators who protest the use of the Unesco world heritage site as a playground for the super-rich.
    Karen Gilchrist, CNBC, 27 June 2025
  • An excess of Helena, which no one, least of all me, wanted.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 June 2025
Verb
  • Over the next few months, the fry will gorge themselves on thousands of tiny crustaceans each week, while the institution’s Animal Care team will be hard at work to ensure that as many as possible can reach full maturity.
    Jared Ranahan, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025
  • Rubinoff has already brought several into the lab, where the caterpillars can gorge themselves on Drosophila pupae with no fear of spiders interrupting the feast.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • These flaky hand pies stuffed with sweet-tart cherries are the perfect two-bite desserts for topping off a full Fourth of July spread.
    Patricia S York, Southern Living, 27 June 2025
  • Demonstrating the extent of his influence and power, Combs is accused of suppressing damning hotel footage of him attacking Ventura by pulling out a brown paper bag stuffed with $100,000 in cash.
    Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 26 June 2025
Verb
  • There will be lunches and dinners for $20 or less, and three-course dinners priced at $40 and $60 will be sating appetites during the week.
    Jared Mccallister, New York Daily News, 22 June 2025
  • After all, a film like Ballerina ostensibly exists only to keep the franchise’s devotees sated in the meantime.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 10 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Surfeit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surfeit. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.

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