What does "surfeit" mean?
An excessive amount of something.
Surfeit
/ˈsɜː.fɪt/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An excessive amount of something.
- Grammar: surfeit is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: excess, glut, overabundance, allay.
- Useful contrasts: dearth, deficit, handsful.
- Usage evidence: A surfeit of alternatives leads to a bad choice.
How to use "surfeit"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "surfeit" 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 "surfeit" 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 "surfeit" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "surfeit" 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 "surfeit" is acting as adj, noun, verb 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 "excess" 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 "surfeit", 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 An excessive amount of something. countable
"A surfeit of wheat is driving down the price."
- 2 eating until excessively full wordnet
- 3 Overindulgence in either food or drink; overeating. uncountable
"I feel too much thy blessing: make it [this excess]less, For fear I surfeit! Now comes the sick hour that his surfeit made."
- 4 the quality of being so overabundant that prices fall wordnet
- 5 A sickness or condition caused by overindulgence. countable
"King Henry I is said to have died of a surfeit of lampreys."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 the state of being more than full wordnet
- 7 Disgust caused by excess; satiety. countable, uncountable
"Now for ſimilitudes in certain Printed diſcourſes, I thinke all Herberiſts, all ſtories of beaſts, foules, and fiſhes, are rifled vp, that they may come in multitudes to vvait vpon any of our conceits, which certainly is as abſurd a ſurfet to the eares as is poſsible."
- 8 A group of skunks. countable
Verb
- 1 To fill (something) to excess. transitive
"You are three men of sin, whom Destiny, That hath to instrument this lower world And what is in’t,—the never-surfeited sea Hath caused to belch up you;"
- 2 indulge (one's appetite) to satiety wordnet
- 3 To feed (someone) to excess (on, upon or with something). transitive
"She surfeited her children on sweets."
- 4 supply or feed to surfeit wordnet
- 5 To make (someone) sick as a result of overconsumption. transitive
"[…] that proportion of meat surfetteth, and surchargeth the stomacks of some, which is not enough to satisfie the hunger of others,"
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 To supply (someone) with something to excess; to disgust (someone) through overabundance. figuratively, transitive
"1697, Aphra Behn, “On an ungrateful and undeserving Mistress, whom he cou’d not help Loving” in Poems upon Several Occasions, London: Francis Saunders, p. 50, While some glad Rival in her Arms did lye, Glutted with Love and surfeited with Joy."
- 7 To satisfy (someone's appetite) to excess (both literally and figuratively). transitive
"[…] his appetite for vulgar praise had not yet been surfeited;"
- 8 To overeat or feed to excess (on or upon something). intransitive, reflexive
"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares."
- 9 To indulge (in something) to excess. figuratively, intransitive, reflexive
"After surfeiting itself with the Feast here provided for it, the Eye, by using a little Exercise in travelling about the Country, grows hungry again, and returns to the Entertainment with fresh Appetite."
- 10 To become sick from overindulgence (both literally and figuratively). intransitive, reflexive
"[…] they are as sick that surfeit with too much as they that starve with nothing."
Adjective
- 1 Sated; surfeited; filled. archaic
"If it proceed from the third occaſion, which is ſurfeit of Meats and Drinks, either natural or unnatural, then the ſigns are theſe ; […]"
Antonyms
Example
"A surfeit of alternatives leads to a bad choice."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "surfeit"?
Common synonyms include: excess, glut, overabundance, allay, amplitude, bellyful.
How do you use "surfeit" in a sentence?
A surfeit of alternatives leads to a bad choice.
How do you pronounce "surfeit"?
Pronounced /ˈsɜː.fɪt/.
Etymology
From Middle English surfeite, surfet, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman surfet, surfeit and Old French sorfet, sorfait, past participle of surfaire (“to augment, exaggerate, exceed”), from sur- (“over”) + faire (“to do”). The adjective is derived from the noun.