as in surplus
the state or an instance of going beyond what is usual, proper, or needed
a mall with a surplusage of stores all selling the same lines of clothing
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Recent Examples of surplusage
In everyday speech, in legal texts and even in translations of Genesis, one person’s surplusage may be another person’s way of dealing with inevitable trade-offs between clarity and concision.
—
Sam Bray, Washington Post, 25 June 2017
Sam Bray, Washington Post, 25 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surplusage
Noun
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Over a decade later, the spirit of that push has become a core policy for Johnson, who persuaded aldermen to support a record $1 billion TIF surplus that yielded $572 million for Chicago Public Schools and $233 million for the city.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
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Those teams have areas of surplus and change-of-scenery candidates.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Yet the outcome of the big bang was somehow a tiny sliver more matter than antimatter—all the galaxies, dust and living things in the universe belong to this minuscule excess.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
8 May 2026
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Delano Miami Beach, which was built in 1947 and became a wildly popular hot spot for celebrities and a symbol of Miami Beach excess after a 1995 renovation, has reopened after six years.—
Connie Ogle
May 8,
Miami Herald,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Surplusage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surplusage. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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