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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His ability to not only balance our budget but to turn a surplus while adding so many citizens is a model that should be applauded and envied.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Feb. 2026
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That program also is slated to share in future state surpluses to increase its scope.—
John Moritz,
Hartford Courant,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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This included no meaningful excess of memory loss or dementia, depression, sleep disturbance, erectile dysfunction, weight gain, nausea, fatigue or headache.—
Sara Moniuszko,
USA Today,
6 Feb. 2026
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Bloomberg Intelligence has estimated that if Uber continues to fare poorly in early trials, the company may ultimately have to pay in excess of $500 million to settle more than 3,000 pending cases.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Surplusage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surplusage. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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