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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He is credited with the key leadership role in creating Palm Springs’ Measure J, a 1% sales tax increase that helped to fund a $200 million downtown revitalization program and providing a surplus of $12 million per year to rebuild the city’s infrastructure.—
Erik Pedersen,
Deadline,
4 Sep. 2025
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The bigger risk is OPEC+ deciding to reinstate supply cuts, given concerns about a surplus.—
Ruxandra Iordache,
CNBC,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The ruling landed as a symbolic rebuke of Musk’s sway over Tesla, and a warning about the excesses of Silicon Valley’s cult-of-founder ethos.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025
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An excess of dry fuels and vegetation is compounded by fire weather conditions that are becoming more common year-round.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Surplusage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surplusage. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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