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Glite Dictionary
surplusage

surplusage

9.9
Extra things or words that are not needed
  • noun
  • /ˈsɜrpləsɪdʒ/
translation icon : exceso
  • We should avoid any surplusage in our presentation to keep the audience focused on key points.

Examples

  • This avoids any questions about surplusage.

    Academic text (2017)

  • The Seventh Circuit did not agree with the Ninth Circuit's majority interpretation for two primary reasons: "the need to construe statutory language in context and with a view to its place in the overall statutory scheme" and the canon against surplusage.

    Academic text (2017)

  • To do so would be redundant and therefore surplusage.

    Academic text (1990)

  • The canon against surplusage is a basic statutory interpretation tool.

    Academic text (2017)

  • The Canon Against Surplusage

    Academic text (2017)

  • The main reason that the Seventh Circuit's interpretation is correct under the current CAFA is that the interpretation takes into account both the canon against surplusage and the legislative history of the statute.

    Academic text (2017)

  • On the other hand, the Seventh Circuit's interpretation gives subsections (a), (b), and (c) different functions, which satisfies the canon against surplusage.

    Academic text (2017)

  • The canon against surplusage suggests to the interpreters that they "should avoid interpretations of statutes that would render provisions of an act superfluous or unnecessary."

    Academic text (2017)

  • The report included a lot of surplusage that made it difficult to understand the main ideas.

  • The committee decided to remove the unnecessary surplusage from the document to make it clearer.

Synonyms

surplus
vssurplusage
192 3.1

An amount that is more than what is needed

is the general term for an amount exceeding need
excess
vssurplusage
108 3.3

An amount more than needed or allowed

is focused on amount strictly above need without permission or desirability
abundance
vssurplusage
91 3.3

A large amount of something, more than you need

is focused on amount above need without implying great size
overrun
vssurplusage
14 5.9

An extra amount made beyond what is needed

is general for extra amount not tied to production or expectation
overabundance
vssurplusage
7 5.7

Too much of something that is not needed

is neutral about size not stressing how large it is
overage
vssurplusage
3 6.8

An amount of money or goods that is more than expected

is general for any extra amount not only money or goods
superabundance
vssurplusage
1 7.9

A very large amount of something that is more than needed

is used for any extra amount not necessarily an extreme one
superfluity
vssurplusage
1 8.7

An amount that is more than needed or useful

is the neutral word for any amount more than required
redundance
vssurplusage
  • Archaic
7.8

A situation with extra parts or ideas that are not needed

is about the actual extra amount rather than the abstract state
nimiety
vssurplusage
  • Formal
9.9

An amount that is more than needed

is the standard term for extra amount without stressing how much larger
overplus
vssurplusage
  • Archaic
9.8

An amount that is more than is needed, often extra food or goods

is the ordinary word for extra amount without the extreme sense

Antonyms

necessity
274 2.0

A thing you need to live, like food or water

How Excessive

glut
20 6.8
oversupply
4 4.5
surplusage
9.9
excess
77 4.1

Surface Forms

surplusage singular
surplusages plural

Morphology

surplusage = surplus (semi-transparent) = surplus + age

The word is built from the recognizable base 'surplus' plus the noun-forming suffix '-age', but the resulting form is somewhat specialized and not completely predictable for a learner.

Etymology

Surplusage begins with surplus, made from sur- 'over' and plus 'more', and ends with -age 'a thing'. So surplusage is a 'thing that is over' what you need, which is why it means extra or unnecessary things.