surfeit
Exam frequency
GRE
high
Banks
high
Civil Services
high
Meaning(s)
an excessive amount of something
How to Memorize
surfeit - excess
Analysis
A ‘surfeit’ of something is an overabundance of it. Even though having too much of something can be a good thing in some cases, this word tends to be used only when the result is a negative one. For example, in the case of food, the term is associated with consuming too much of something to the point that you feel physically sick.
| Exams | Spoken | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synonyms | surplus,overabundance | ||
| Antonyms | shortage,deficiency |
Example(s)
We have a surfeit of candidates for the job. There’s no way we will have time to interview all of them.
There was a surfeit of food at the banquet, and I ate so much that I made myself feel sick!
It’s hard to come to a swift conclusion when there is such a surfeit of information that needs sifting through.