ZebraWords.com - The Definition of 'Superfluous', Synonyms of 'Superfluous' & More on 'Superfluous'

1. WordNet® 3.0 (2006)

superfluous
    adj 1: serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being;
           "otiose lines in a play"; "advice is wasted words"; "a
           pointless remark"; "a life essentially purposeless";
           "senseless violence" [syn: otiose, pointless,
           purposeless, senseless, superfluous, wasted]
    2: more than is needed, desired, or required; "trying to lose
       excess weight"; "found some extra change lying on the
       dresser"; "yet another book on heraldry might be thought
       redundant"; "skills made redundant by technological advance";
       "sleeping in the spare room"; "supernumerary ornamentation";
       "it was supererogatory of her to gloat"; "delete superfluous
       (or unnecessary) words"; "extra ribs as well as other
       supernumerary internal parts"; "surplus cheese distributed to
       the needy" [syn: excess, extra, redundant, spare,
       supererogatory, superfluous, supernumerary, surplus]

2. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Superfluous \Su*per"flu*ous\, a. [L. superfluus overflowing;
   super over, above + fluere to flow. See Super-, and
   Fluent.]
   More than is wanted or is sufficient; rendered unnecessary by
   superabundance; unnecessary; useless; excessive; as, a
   superfluous price. --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]

         An authority which makes all further argument or
         illustration superfluous.                --E. Everett.
   [1913 Webster]

   Superfluous interval (Mus.), an interval that exceeds a
      major or perfect interval by a semitone.
      [1913 Webster]

   Syn: Unnecessary; useless; exuberant; excessive; redundant;
        needless.
        [1913 Webster] -- Su*per"flu*ous*ly, adv. --
        Su*per"flu*ous*ness, n.
        [1913 Webster]

Thesaurus Results for Superfluous:

1. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

accessory, accidental, additional, adscititious, adventitious, aimless, appurtenant, ascititious, auxiliary, casual, circumstantial, collateral, contingent, de trop, dispensable, excess, excessive, expendable, expletive, extra, feckless, fortuitous, gratuitous, impotent, in excess, incidental, ineffective, ineffectual, inessential, left, leftover, meaningless, needless, net, no go, nonessential, odd, of no use, outstanding, over, pleonastic, pointless, prolix, purposeless, redundant, remaining, remanent, secondary, spare, subsidiary, superabundant, superadded, supererogatory, supernumerary, supervenient, supplemental, supplementary, surplus, surviving, tautologic, tautologous, to spare, unasked, unavailing, uncalled-for, unconsumed, unessential, unnecessary, unneeded, unused, unwanted, useless, verbose

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