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

So by the time a public space opened up in 1977, the staff had a surfeit of wooden soapboxes containing jumbles of animal bones but little else.

From The Wall Street Journal

As a businesswoman, a single mother and a highly sensitive human, Moore made it through life thanks to a surfeit of loving kindness.

From Los Angeles Times

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

The surfeit of description can scarcely conceal the deficit of insight.

From The Wall Street Journal

Once markets adjusted to the shock, U.S. gas inventories flipped into a surfeit that depressed prices.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• glut
• plethora
• profusion