superfluousness

superfluousness

The committee decided the extra paragraph was pure superfluousness and removed it.

Definition

Noun: - The state or quality of being superfluous: "superfluousness" refers to the condition of being more than is needed, desired, or required; excessiveness or redundancy.

Usage Examples
  • (The state of being unnecessary or excessive.)
  • (The quality of having too many unnecessary parts.)
  • (The condition of being redundant or surplus.)
Advanced Usage
  • "superfluousness in design": refers to unnecessary elements in architecture, art, or product design.

    • The minimalist architect avoided any superfluousness in the building's layout. (He eliminated all non-essential features.)
  • "superfluousness of language": describes verbose or redundant phrasing in writing or speech.

    • The editor cut the superfluousness from the manuscript to make it more concise. (He removed unnecessary words or sentences.)
Variants and Related Words
  • Superfluous (adj): exceeding what is sufficient or necessary; extra.

    • The report contained superfluous details that confused the readers. (Unnecessary details.)
  • Superfluously (adv): in a way that is more than needed.

    • She superfluously added salt to the already seasoned dish. (Unnecessarily.)
Synonyms
  • Redundancy: the state of being not or no longer needed or useful.
  • Excess: an amount of something that is more than necessary, permitted, or desirable.
  • Surplusage: an excess or oversupply; a word or phrase that is redundant in a text.
  • Unnecessariness: the quality of not being required or essential.
Related Idioms
  • "Carry coals to Newcastle": to do something that is completely unnecessary or redundant (idiom related to superfluousness).

    • Bringing extra water to the desert is like carrying coals to Newcastleit shows superfluousness. (A pointless action.)
  • "Gild the lily": to add unnecessary ornamentation to something already beautiful or good.

    • Adding more decorations to the already perfect cake would be gilding the lily, a clear case of superfluousness. (Unnecessary embellishment.)
Phrasal Verbs (None directly applicable; no phrasal verbs derive from "superfluousness" itself.)