superfluous
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About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.su·per·flu·ous
adjective \su̇-ˈpər-flü-əs\Definition of SUPERFLUOUS
1
a : exceeding what is sufficient or necessary : extra b : not needed : unnecessary
2
obsolete : marked by wastefulness : extravagant
— su·per·flu·ous·ly adverb
— su·per·flu·ous·ness noun
See Examples of SUPERFLUOUS
- <cleared off all the superfluous stuff on his desk to make room for the new computer>
- In the Imagist model, the writer is a sculptor. Technique consists of chipping away everything superfluous in order to reveal the essential form within. “It took you ninety-seven words to do it,” Pound is reported to have remarked to a young literary aspirant who had handed him a new poem. “I find it could have been managed in fifty-six.” —Louis Menand, New Yorker, 9 & 16 June 2008
- Oddly, despite the preponderance of superfluous words, the book has no glossary, which is a must for an introductory audience. —Dorothy Merritts, Eos, 3 Oct. 2000
- Twenty years ago, baby boomers were written about as if every one of them had as a life goal making enough money to accumulate the same superfluous material objects that everyone else had. —Calvin Trillin, Time, 6 Sept. 1999
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Origin of SUPERFLUOUS
Middle English, from Latin superfluus, literally, running over, from superfluere to overflow, from super- + fluere to flow — more at fluid
First Known Use: 15th century
Related to SUPERFLUOUS
- Synonyms
- excess, extra, redundant, supererogatory, spare, supernumerary, surplus
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