Superfluous
adjective
More than is needed or wanted; unnecessary.
In the face of such courage, further comment is superfluous.
Often appears as...
- superfluous detail
- become superfluous
adjective
Unnecessarily large, excessive in amount, size or intensity.
The report is full of superfluous detail which detracts from the main points.
Often appears as...
- superfluous attention
- superfluous ornamentation
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
More than is needed or wanted; unnecessary.
In the face of such courage, further comment is superfluous.
Often appears as...
- superfluous detail
- become superfluous
adjective
Unnecessarily large, excessive in amount, size or intensity.
The report is full of superfluous detail which detracts from the main points.
Often appears as...
- superfluous attention
- superfluous ornamentation
Usage tips
Disapproving
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Avoid redundancy
Use 'superfluous' to point out something unnecessary that repeats what's already been said or done.
His apologies were superfluous; she'd already forgiven him.
Pro Tip 2/3Connotation of waste
'Superfluous' often implies that the excess is wasteful or could be avoided.
The meeting was filled with superfluous conversations that wasted our time.
Pro Tip 3/3Critique of excess
When describing work or an argument, 'superfluous' signals unnecessary complexity or over-elaboration.
Her essay was good, but the superfluous details obscured her main argument.
Pro Tip 1/3Avoid redundancy
Use 'superfluous' to point out something unnecessary that repeats what's already been said or done.
His apologies were superfluous; she'd already forgiven him.
Pro Tip 2/3Connotation of waste
'Superfluous' often implies that the excess is wasteful or could be avoided.
The meeting was filled with superfluous conversations that wasted our time.
Pro Tip 3/3Critique of excess
When describing work or an argument, 'superfluous' signals unnecessary complexity or over-elaboration.
Her essay was good, but the superfluous details obscured her main argument.
Pro Tip 1/3Avoid redundancy
Use 'superfluous' to point out something unnecessary that repeats what's already been said or done.
His apologies were superfluous; she'd already forgiven him.
Pro Tip 2/3Connotation of waste
'Superfluous' often implies that the excess is wasteful or could be avoided.
The meeting was filled with superfluous conversations that wasted our time.
Pro Tip 3/3Critique of excess
When describing work or an argument, 'superfluous' signals unnecessary complexity or over-elaboration.
Her essay was good, but the superfluous details obscured her main argument.
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Video examples
You are not alone in...
And I feel silly and stupid sometimes for valuing these small moments of human connection in times like these. But I've always operated under this idea that these little moments of humanness are not superfluous. They're not retreats from the world at all,
Video examples
What percentage of your...
Because the small number of signals have thousands of possible paths by which to distribute themselves. A drawback of sparse coding within a huge number of neurons is its cost. Worse, if a big proportion of cells never fire, then they are superfluous
Video examples
You are not alone in...
And I feel silly and stupid sometimes for valuing these small moments of human connection in times like these. But I've always operated under this idea that these little moments of humanness are not superfluous. They're not retreats from the world at all,
Video examples
What percentage of your...
Because the small number of signals have thousands of possible paths by which to distribute themselves. A drawback of sparse coding within a huge number of neurons is its cost. Worse, if a big proportion of cells never fire, then they are superfluous
Example 1 of 2
Quote examples
Yuval Noah Harari
Israeli Historian
The most important question in 21st-century economics may well be, 'What should we do with all the superfluous people, once we have highly intelligent non-conscious algorithms that can do almost everything better than humans?
Quote examples
Ludwig Quidde
German Critic
Let us assume that the ideal were reached; let us imagine a state of international life in which the danger of war no longer exists. Then no one would dare to demand a penny for obviously completely superfluous armaments.
Quote examples
Grace Slick
American Musician
Through your life, most people peel away the junk that's not useful, that's superfluous. You are determined to peel that away. I do one thing at a time. One man at a time. One car. One house. One child. One job.
Quote examples
Rosa Luxemburg
Russian Activist
Democracy is indispensable, not because it renders superfluous the conquest of political power by the proletariat, but, on the contrary, because it makes this seizure of power both necessary and possible.
Quote examples
Paulo Coelho
Brazilian Novelist
Elegance is achieved when all that is superfluous has been discarded and the human being discovers simplicity and concentration: the simpler and more sober the posture, the more beautiful it will be.
Quote examples
Leonardo da Vinci
Italian Artist
Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous.
Quote examples
David Hilbert
German Mathematician
One can measure the importance of a scientific work by the number of earlier publications rendered superfluous by it.
Quote examples
Yoko Ono
American Artist
Art is a mind-game that we do to make our lives easier. If it isn't for that, it becomes superfluous.
Quote examples
Richard Dawkins
English Scientist
God stands out in the universe as the most glaring of all superfluous sore thumbs.
Quote examples
Voltaire
French Writer
The superfluous, a very necessary thing.
Quote examples
Yuval Noah Harari
Israeli Historian
The most important question in 21st-century economics may well be, 'What should we do with all the superfluous people, once we have highly intelligent non-conscious algorithms that can do almost everything better than humans?
Quote examples
Ludwig Quidde
German Critic
Let us assume that the ideal were reached; let us imagine a state of international life in which the danger of war no longer exists. Then no one would dare to demand a penny for obviously completely superfluous armaments.
Quote examples
Grace Slick
American Musician
Through your life, most people peel away the junk that's not useful, that's superfluous. You are determined to peel that away. I do one thing at a time. One man at a time. One car. One house. One child. One job.
Quote examples
Rosa Luxemburg
Russian Activist
Democracy is indispensable, not because it renders superfluous the conquest of political power by the proletariat, but, on the contrary, because it makes this seizure of power both necessary and possible.
Quote examples
Paulo Coelho
Brazilian Novelist
Elegance is achieved when all that is superfluous has been discarded and the human being discovers simplicity and concentration: the simpler and more sober the posture, the more beautiful it will be.
Quote examples
Leonardo da Vinci
Italian Artist
Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous.
Quote examples
David Hilbert
German Mathematician
One can measure the importance of a scientific work by the number of earlier publications rendered superfluous by it.
Quote examples
Yoko Ono
American Artist
Art is a mind-game that we do to make our lives easier. If it isn't for that, it becomes superfluous.
Quote examples
Richard Dawkins
English Scientist
God stands out in the universe as the most glaring of all superfluous sore thumbs.
Quote examples
Voltaire
French Writer
The superfluous, a very necessary thing.
Example 1 of 10
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