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
-
Newsom then proposes spending that $10 billion in the next year’s budget, according to the LAO report — in essence, making a quick deposit to carry some of this year’s surplus over for next year’s budget.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
19 May 2026
-
By linking their grids, member states can share domestic surpluses in real time.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
Temperatures in excess of 82 degrees Fahrenheit are considered ideal conditions for tropical storm or hurricane development.—
Marshall Shepherd,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
-
These morality tales, focusing on figures like Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky, make an implicit claim that individual avarice somehow explains the excesses of an entire era.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Surplusage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surplusage. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
