surfeit

American  

[sur-fit] / ˈsɜr fɪt /

noun

1. excess; an excessive amount.

   a surfeit of speechmaking.

   Synonyms:

   superfluity, superabundance

   Antonyms:

   lack

2. excess or overindulgence in eating or drinking.

3. an uncomfortably full or crapulous feeling due to excessive eating or drinking.

4. general disgust caused by excess or satiety.

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verb (used with object)

1. to bring to a state of surfeit by excess of food or drink.

   Synonyms:

   gorge, stuff

2. to supply with anything to excess or satiety; satiate.

   Synonyms:

   fill, gorge, stuff

verb (used without object)

1. to eat or drink to excess.

2. to suffer from the effects of overindulgence in eating or drinking.

3. to indulge to excess in anything.

surfeit British  

/ ˈsɜːfɪt /

noun

1. (usually foll by of) an excessive or immoderate amount

2. overindulgence, esp in eating or drinking

3. disgust, nausea, etc, caused by such overindulgence

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verb

1. (tr) to supply or feed excessively; satiate

2. archaic (intr) to eat, drink, or be supplied to excess

3. obsolete (intr) to feel uncomfortable as a consequence of overindulgence

Other Word Forms

• surfeiter noun
• unsurfeited adjective
• unsurfeiting adjective

Etymology

Origin of surfeit

1250–1300; (noun) Middle English sorfete, surfait < Middle French surfait, surfet (noun use of past participle of surfaire to overdo), equivalent to sur- sur- ¹ + fait < Latin factus, past participle of facere to do ( fact ); (v.) sorfeten, derivative of the noun

Example Sentences

But this spring holds a surfeit of Scripture-inspired scripted alternatives.

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026

“What happened to the peace dividend?” economist Augusto Lopez-Claros asked last year, referring to the supposed surfeit of funds that was to flow after the end of the Cold War.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

Any study of wars, poverty and other manmade crises shows us that humanity still suffers from a lack of empathy, not a surfeit.

From Salon • Dec. 1, 2025

The Victorians worried about a “world denuded of larger significance,” but we suffer from both material surfeit and spiritual abundance, and are captive to a surplus of competing and increasingly angry gods.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

A smooth barkless tree, blackened by a surfeit of green water.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

Related Words

• glut
• plethora
• profusion