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

The man constructed the support, a triangular framework contrived to receive the shafting at the apex; where there was no stress within the triangle, he cut away the timber, thus eliminating all surplusage of material.

From The Gate of Appreciation Studies in the Relation of Art to Life by Noyes, Carleton Eldredge