First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
1surfeit
noun sur·feit \ˈsər-fət\
: an amount that is too much or more than you need
Full Definition of SURFEIT
1
: an overabundant supply : excess
2
: an intemperate or immoderate indulgence in something (as food or drink)
3
: disgust caused by excess
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Origin of SURFEIT
Middle English surfet, from Anglo-French, from surfaire to overdo, from sur- + faire to do, from Latin facere — more at do
Related to SURFEIT
- Synonyms
- bellyful, fat, overabundance, overage, overflow, overkill, overmuch, overplus, oversupply, plethora, plus, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, excess, surplus, surplusage
- Antonyms
- deficiency, deficit, insufficiency, undersupply
2surfeit
verb
Definition of SURFEIT
transitive verb : to feed, supply, or give to surfeit
intransitive verb
archaic : to indulge to satiety in a gratification (as indulgence of the appetite or senses)
— sur·feit·er noun
First Known Use of SURFEIT
14th century
Synonym Discussion of SURFEIT
satiate, sate, surfeit, cloy, pall, glut, gorge mean to fill to repletion. satiate and sate may sometimes imply only complete satisfaction but more often suggest repletion that has destroyed interest or desire <years of globe-trotting had satiated their interest in travel> <readers were sated with sensationalistic stories>. surfeit implies a nauseating repletion <surfeited themselves with junk food>. cloy stresses the disgust or boredom resulting from such surfeiting <sentimental pictures that cloy after a while>. pall emphasizes the loss of ability to stimulate interest or appetite <a life of leisure eventually begins to pall>. glut implies excess in feeding or supplying <a market glutted with diet books>. gorge suggests glutting to the point of bursting or choking <gorged themselves with chocolate>.
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