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
-
An earlier regulation that introduced import quotas faced criticism and revisions for blurring the line between essential supply chain items and surplus imports.—
Mayu Saini,
Sourcing Journal,
14 July 2025
-
Non-distillers like KBD and Preservation followed suit, bottling well-aged surplus stocks for markets that wanted old American whiskey.—
Chris Perugini,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
Noun
-
Her book, like her performances, lives in the productive tension between discipline and excess.—
Matthew Clark Davison,
Literary Hub,
11 July 2025
-
Once considered a watchdog for the excesses of union leadership, the Teamsters for a Democratic Union mostly now follows O’Brien.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Surplusage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surplusage. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share