Basic Details
Word: Superfluity
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: An amount that is more than is needed or wanted; an unnecessary extra.
Synonyms: excess, surplus, glut, oversupply
Antonyms: shortage, lack, scarcity
How to Spell Superfluity
Syllables: su - per - flu - i - ty
Tricky part: The middle is flu, as in the illness, followed by ity. Students write superfluety or superflueity, adding an e that is not there.
Watch out for: superfluety, superfluaty, superflooity
Memory tip: Break it into super (over) + flu + ity. Think of a river that flows over its banks: super, then flu, then ity.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The essay suffered from a superfluity of long words.
Example 2: There was a superfluity of mangoes in May, so Nani made pickle with the extra.
Example 3: The editor cut the superfluity of adjectives from my story.
Fun Fact
The root is the Latin superfluere, to overflow, from super, over, and fluere, to flow; fluid and influence come from the same verb.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word superfluity as it is used in the sentence:
The dinner table showed a superfluity of sweets but hardly any proper food.
a) surplus
b) shortage
c) excess
d) glut
Show answer
b) shortage. Surplus, excess and glut all mean too much; shortage means too little.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to complete the word:
superfl_it_
a) o, y
b) u, i
c) e, y
d) u, y
Show answer
d) u, y. After superfl comes u, and like most ity nouns it ends in a y.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Her report was spoilt by a tuyfepilrsu of unnecessary details.
a) superfluity
b) perplexity
c) superstition
d) superiority
Show answer
a) superfluity. Superiority and superstition have no f or l, and perplexity has an x; the jumble holds an f and an l.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A superfluity of chairs at a meeting means there are ____.
a) no chairs
b) broken chairs
c) too few chairs
d) more chairs than needed
Show answer
d) more chairs than needed
2. Which of these shows a superfluity?
a) no pens left for the last pupil
b) one pen for each pupil in the class
c) ten pens for a pupil who needs two
d) two pens shared by two pupils
Show answer
c) ten pens for a pupil who needs two
