superfluous

American  

[soo-pur-floo-uhs] / sʊˈpɜr flu əs /

adjective

1. being more than is sufficient or required; excessive.

   Synonyms:

   redundant, extra

2. unnecessary or needless.

3. Obsolete. possessing or spending more than enough or necessary; extravagant.

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superfluous British  

/ suːˈpɜːflʊəs /

adjective

1. exceeding what is sufficient or required

2. not necessary or relevant; uncalled-for

3. obsolete extravagant in expenditure or oversupplied with possessions

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Other Word Forms

• superfluously
  adverb
• superfluousness
  noun
• unsuperfluous
  adjective
• unsuperfluously
  adverb
• unsuperfluousness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of superfluous

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin superfluus, from super- super- + flu- (stem of fluere “to flow”) + -us -ous

Explanation

When something is so unnecessary that it could easily be done away with, like a fifth wheel on a car or a fifth person on a double date, call it superfluous. Superfluous (soo-PER-floo-uhs) means "more than required." Use it when pointing out something that could be removed without detracting from the quality of something: "For a climb over a glacier, the very thickest shoes are absolutely necessary; beyond these, all else seems superfluous to me," wrote the adventurer Charles Stoddard in 1899. The word comes from Latin and literally means "overflowing": super ("over") + fluere ("to flow"). So you can think of a superfluous addition as flowing over the boundaries of what's needed.

Example Sentences

At the time, a Homeland Security spokesperson said the judge’s order was “unnecessary and superfluous given DHS’s medical policy goes above and beyond.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

Once again, artificial intelligence was at the center of the selloff, amid worries that software would be made superfluous by Anthropic’s Claude applications.

From Barron's • Feb. 7, 2026

That final scene seems superfluous, but as for the rest of the movie: Its audacious energy is more apparent than ever.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

The company has eliminated unpopular wing sauces, 86’d a superfluous fried-chicken batter, and thinned out the burger menu—all in service of making the kitchen a more simple place to work.

From Slate • Aug. 11, 2025

She discovered she had an excellent memory for important information and a knack for separating the essential from the superfluous.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Related Words

• excessive
• expendable
• gratuitous
• redundant
• unneeded
• useless