surplusage

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.

In discussing the 14th Amendment, Mr. Barnett fairly shows that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” isn’t empty surplusage.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Some of that surplusage is sold by private surplus retailers.

From Seattle Times • May 19, 2024

But “our preference for avoiding surplusage constructions is not absolute.”

From MSNBC • Jun. 25, 2015

In general, the surplusage and consequent confusion of our great . . . art museums is a matter of daily and just comment.

From Time Magazine Archive

When, on his first march, Si cleaned out all the surplusage from his knapsack, he had hung on to a pretty portfolio that his sister gave him.

From Si Klegg, Book 1 (of 6) His Transformation From A Raw Recruit To A Veteran by McElroy, John