What does "supernumerary" mean?
A person who works in a group, association, or public office without forming part of the regular staff (the numerary).
Supernumerary
/ˌsuːpəˈnjuːm(ə)ɹ(ə)ɹi/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person who works in a group, association, or public office without forming part of the regular staff (the numerary).
- Grammar: supernumerary is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: extra, accessory, addition, additional.
- Useful contrasts: essential, leading, mandatory.
- Usage evidence: The judge was a supernumerary, helping the regular judges whenever there was a surplus amount of work.
How to use "supernumerary"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "supernumerary" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "supernumerary" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "supernumerary" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "supernumerary" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "supernumerary" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "extra" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "supernumerary", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person who works in a group, association, or public office without forming part of the regular staff (the numerary).
"The judge was a supernumerary, helping the regular judges whenever there was a surplus amount of work."
- 2 a minor actor in crowd scenes wordnet
- 3 An extra or walk-on, often non-speaking, in a film or play; a spear carrier.
"[A] minor actor or supernumerary often has a better opportunity to watch great actors than the great actors themselves."
- 4 a person serving no apparent function wordnet
- 5 Something which is beyond the prescribed or standard amount or number.
"On each side the glass hung one of the large engravings; another over the secretary, facing the window, and the fourth, which for some time seemed a supernumerary, over the door."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 An animal which has not formed a pair bond and is therefore single.
"The best evidence so far that social supernumeraries are physically capable of bettering their lot concerns not rodents but birds."
- 7 A married man or woman who is a secular member of Opus Dei, a Roman Catholic religious institution.
"“Supernumeraries”, the bulk of Opus Dei members, can marry and live in their own homes, with slightly fewer spiritual obligations."
Adjective
- 1 Greater in number than. not-comparable
"This method applies to the observation of angles, usually obtained by repetitions; and instead of equating directions, as in the first method, its object is to furnish the most probable values for the several observed angles from a supernumerary number of angles."
- 2 Beyond the prescribed or standard amount or number; excess, extra. not-comparable
"I believe a hive, or swarm, has but one queen, at least I have never found more than one in a swarm, or in an old hive in the winter; and probably this is what constitutes a hive; for when there are two queens, it is likely that a division may begin to take place. Supernumerary queens are mentioned by Riem, who asserts he has seen them killed by the labourers, as well as the males."
- 3 Beyond the prescribed or standard amount or number; excess, extra.; Of an organ or structure: additional to what is normally present. not-comparable, specifically
"a supernumerary nipple; a supernumerary tooth"
- 4 Beyond what is necessary; redundant. not-comparable
"Resolved, that the Curators be authorized to exchange with other societies or individuals, such duplicate or supernumerary specimens of coins, medals, minerals and other articles as they may deem unnecessary to be retained in the Cabinet of the Society, for such other specimens, of equal value, as they may consider desirable to be added to the Society's present collection; […]"
Adjective
- 1 more than is needed, desired, or required wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The judge was a supernumerary, helping the regular judges whenever there was a surplus amount of work."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "supernumerary"?
Common synonyms include: extra, accessory, addition, additional, additional organ, adjunct.
How do you use "supernumerary" in a sentence?
The judge was a supernumerary, helping the regular judges whenever there was a surplus amount of work.
How do you pronounce "supernumerary"?
Pronounced /ˌsuːpəˈnjuːm(ə)ɹ(ə)ɹi/.
Etymology
From Late Latin supernumerarius (“extra soldier added to a legion; supernumerary”), from super (“above; beyond”) + numerus (“number; collection, quantity”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns or numerals). The word is analysable as super- + numeral + -ary.