Meaning & use

superfluous

adjective·Advanced

More than is needed or wanted; unnecessary, especially because it adds nothing useful.

See it in a sentence

The editor cut every superfluous adjective from the final draft of the article.

Once the main point was made, further examples felt superfluous.

A note on using this word

Superfluous is a more formal, literary alternative to 'unnecessary', often used to describe words, details, or objects that clutter something.

Words with a similar meaning

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Words with an opposite meaning

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