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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 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
-
Officials began setting aside surplus dollars to fill the Retiree Protection Fund starting around 2016-17.—
Dana Afana,
Freep.com,
9 Oct. 2025
-
At that point, the government’s finances had been buoyed by a surge in oil prices that lifted the budget into its only annual surplus of the last decade, prompting a wave of spending.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Duarte sees their work as Brazil’s answer to early [Pedro] Almodóvar, combining the freedom, humor, and the emotional excess of Spain’s Movida Madrileña with Brazil’s own urban and political tensions.—
Lise Pedersen,
Variety,
12 Oct. 2025
-
Lightly dredge chicken in flour, and shake off excess.—
Jasmine Smith,
Southern Living,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Surplusage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surplusage. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share