surfeit
Americannoun
-
excess; an excessive amount.
a surfeit of speechmaking.
- Synonyms:
- superfluity, superabundance
- Antonyms:
- lack
-
excess or overindulgence in eating or drinking.
-
an uncomfortably full or crapulous feeling due to excessive eating or drinking.
-
general disgust caused by excess or satiety.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
-
to eat or drink to excess.
-
to suffer from the effects of overindulgence in eating or drinking.
-
to indulge to excess in anything.
noun
-
(usually foll by of) an excessive or immoderate amount
-
overindulgence, esp in eating or drinking
-
disgust, nausea, etc, caused by such overindulgence
verb
-
(tr) to supply or feed excessively; satiate
-
archaic (intr) to eat, drink, or be supplied to excess
-
obsolete (intr) to feel uncomfortable as a consequence of overindulgence
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
surfeitsimple
-
surfeitssimple
-
have surfeitedperfect
-
has surfeitedperfect
-
am surfeitingprogressive
-
are surfeitingprogressive
-
is surfeitingprogressive
-
have been surfeitingperfect progressive
-
has been surfeitingperfect progressive
Past
-
surfeitedsimple
-
had surfeitedperfect
-
was surfeitingprogressive
-
were surfeitingprogressive
-
had been surfeitingperfect progressive
Future
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 ( see fact); (v.) sorfeten, derivative of the noun
Explanation
Steve baked a surfeit of jam tarts. Steve ate a surfeit of jam tarts. Steve surfeited himself on jam tarts. Whether surfeit is a noun or a verb (as in "overabundance" or "gorge"), Steve is likely to end up with a bellyache. Overabundance, glut, gorge, and cloy: These are all synonyms for surfeit, and they all convey a sense of too-much-ness, as does the Old French root of the word — surfaire, "to overdo." When it is used in reference to food or eating, surfeit tends to suggest indulging to the point of sickness or disgust. In other contexts, though, the meaning is not necessarily negative: "A surfeit of kindness," for example, would hardly be a bad thing.
Vocabulary lists containing surfeit
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"One of the biggest challenges and difficulties we face as surfers in the Gaza Strip is the lack of tools and equipment specific to this sport," Abdel Rahim Al-Ustadh, 19, told AFP.
From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026
The incident happened as Brazilian surfers Yago Dora and Italo Ferreira competed in the men's semi-finals in Raglan on the North Island.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
They posted images of workers spraying chemicals and used artificial intelligence to make illustrations featuring surfers under the slogan “Endless Herbicides.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
Much like surfers riding ocean waves, stars can gain momentum from spiral arms and drift to larger distances over time.
From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2026
One afternoon, we borrowed a car and drove to the North Shore of Oahu, where we sat on a ribbon of soft beach and watched surfers rip across enormous waves.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
