surfeit
UK/ˈsɜː.fɪt//ˈsɝː.fɪt/
surfeit adjective: sated; surfeited; filled.
Adjective
surfeit (comparative more surfeit, superlative most surfeit)
- Sated; surfeited; filled.
- If it proceed from the third occaſion, which is ſurfeit of Meats and Drinks, either natural or unnatural, then the ſigns are theſe ; […]1686, Gervase Markham, Markham's Faithful Farrier, London: […] J. Millet for J Deacon, page 7
- “We are surfeit with sons of vassals of the king,” the merchant said.1959, D. V. S. Jackson, chapter I, in Walk with Peril, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, page 10
Noun
surfeit (countable and uncountable, plural surfeits)
- An excessive amount of something.
- A surfeit of wheat is driving down the price.
- With what could be a surfeit of candour, [Mike] Skinner has described DJing as more creative than playing his own songs, because, to paraphrase, of the "stress" and "creativity" of not knowing what he'll be doing in three minutes' time.2019 January 26, Kitty Empire [pseudonym], “The Streets review – the agony and ecstasy of a great everyman”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC...
- Synonyms:
- excess, glut, overabundance, superfluity, surplus, ug
- Overindulgence in either food or drink; overeating.
- I feel too much thy blessing: make it [this excess]less,
For fear I surfeit!
Now comes the sick hour that his surfeit made.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]... - He insisted on stopping at a charmingly romantic cabman's shelter somewhere, at five o'clock this morning, and we had a surfeit of hot cocoa and currant buns.1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries
- Synonyms:
- gluttony, overeating, overindulgence
- I feel too much thy blessing: make it [this excess]less,
- A sickness or condition caused by overindulgence.
- King Henry I is said to have died of a surfeit of lampreys.
- the Leaves they do eat to prevent surfeit and other diseases that are incident to those that heat their blood by travels1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC
- Disgust caused by excess; satiety.
- Now for ſimilitudes in certain Printed diſcourſes, I thinke all Herberiſts, all ſtories of beaſts, foules, and fiſhes, are rifled vp, that they may come in multitudes to vvait vpon any of our conceits, which certainly is as abſurd a ſurfet to the eares as is poſsible.a. 1587 (date written), Phillip Sidney [i.e., Philip Sidney], The Defence of Poesie, London: […] [Thomas Creede] for VVilliam Ponsonby, published 1595, →OCLC, →OCLC
- Matter and argument have been supplied abundantly, and even to surfeit.1795–1797, Edmund Burke, “(please specify |letter=1 to 4)”, in [Letters on a Regicide Peace], London: [Rivington]
- Synonyms:
- nausea
- A group of skunks.
Verb
surfeit (third-person singular simple present surfeits, present participle surfeiting, simple past and past participle surfeited)
- To fill (something) to excess.
- You are three men of sin, whom Destiny,
That hath to instrument this lower world
And what is in’t,—the never-surfeited sea
Hath caused to belch up you;1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published... - If this surfeited sponge of speculation, this crammed commercial cormorant, wanted more than that for his daughter, why could he not say so without asking disgusting questions such as these […]?1873 May 1 – December 22 (date written), Anthony Trollope, chapter 23, in The Way We Live Now. […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published June 1875, →OCLC
- Synonyms:
- stuff
- You are three men of sin, whom Destiny,
- To feed (someone) to excess (on, upon or with something).
- She surfeited her children on sweets.
- […] ev’n the wholsomest Meats may be surfeited on, and there is nothing more unhealthy, than to feed very well, and do but very little Exercise.1665, Robert Boyle, Occasional Reflections upon Several Subjects, London: Henry Herringman, Reflection 10, page 186
- To make (someone) sick as a result of overconsumption.
- […] that proportion of meat surfetteth, and surchargeth the stomacks of some, which is not enough to satisfie the hunger of others,1640, Thomas Fuller, Joseph’s Partie-Colored Coat, London: John Williams
- […] I imagine him poisoned by his wines, or surfeited by a favourite dish;1755 January 2, George Colman, The Connoisseur, volume 1, number 49, London: R. Baldwin, page 299
- To supply (someone) with something to excess; to disgust (someone) through overabundance.
- While some glad Rival in her Arms did lye,
Glutted with Love and surfeited with Joy.1697, Aphra Behn, “On an ungrateful and undeserving Mistress, whom he cou’d not help Loving” in Poems upon Several Occasions, London: Francis Saunders, p. 50 - […] he shan’t shut me up in this dismal castle, and nauseate me with his surfeiting fondness:1795, Richard Cumberland, Henry, London: Charles Dilly, Volume 4, Book 10, Chapter 3, p. 18
- While some glad Rival in her Arms did lye,
- To satisfy (someone's appetite) to excess.
- […] his appetite for vulgar praise had not yet been surfeited;1796, Maria Edgeworth, “The Mimic”, in The Parent’s Assistant; or, Stories for Children, volume 2, London: J. Johnson, page 98
- Every one has had the experience of being served with more food than can be eaten with relish and without waste. The effect is to surfeit the appetite and to limit the variety which a patron may have,1922, Lenore Richards, Nola Treat, chapter 2, in Quantity Cookery,, Boston: Little, Brown, page 8
- Synonyms:
- glut
- To overeat or feed to excess (on or upon something).
- And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 21:34
- Millions of people were starving, while the oligarchs and their supporters were surfeiting on the surplus.1908 February 19, Jack London, chapter 17, in The Iron Heel, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 251
- Synonyms:
- glut, indulge, overfeed, overindulge
- To indulge (in something) to excess.
- After surfeiting itself with the Feast here provided for it, the Eye, by using a little Exercise in travelling about the Country, grows hungry again, and returns to the Entertainment with fresh Appetite.1748, William Gilpin, A Dialogue upon the Gardens of the Right Honourable Viscount Cobham, at Stow in Buckinghamshire, London: B. Seeley, page 54
- […] a more fantastic idiot had never surfeited herself on sweet lies, and swallowed poison as if it were nectar.1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter I, in Jane Eyre. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 16
- To become sick from overindulgence.
- […] they are as sick that surfeit with too much as they that starve with nothing.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- I must confesse at my first reading of them [the miracles of Hildegard of Bingen], my belief digested some, but surfeted on the rest:1642, Thomas Fuller, chapter 13, in The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC, book I, page 43
surfeit meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Telugu
surfeit in Tamil
- மடுப்பு, கழிமிகைத் துய்ப்பு, உணவின் மிதமிஞ்சிய அளவு, குடியின் வரம்பு, தெவிட்டல்
surfeit in Urdu
- ذخیرہ, وافر مقدار, بسیار خوری
surfeit in Bengali
- অতিরিক্ত খাওয়া, পরিমাণাধিক্য
surfeit in Telugu
- disgust caused by excess; satiety
- మొగచాటు mogacāṭu
More languagesFewer languages
- surfeit in Malayalam
- അധികത്തം, മിച്ചം, ജാസ്തി, അധികത
- surfeit in Kannada
- ಆಧಿಕ್ಯ, ಅತಿಶಯವಾದುದು, ಅತಿಸಮೃದ್ಧಿ, ಹೇರಳ
Examples of surfeit in a sentence
- If he said of a dish, in the local tongue: “I could do a bit of that!” or if he simply smacked his lips over it, she would surfeit him with that dish.1909, Arnold Bennett, The Old Wives’ Tale, Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, Volume 1, Book 2, Chapter 8, section 1, p. 318:
- […] I suppose his majesty thought we had enough of it on the field, and did not wish to surfeit us with glory.1844 Jun, Charles Lever, chapter 53, in Tom Burke of “Ours”, volume 2, Dublin: William Curry, page 31:
- After supper, surfeited with the subject, she yawned.1922, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and Damned, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, book 2, page 210:
- The image-surfeited are likely to find sunsets corny; they now look, alas, too much like photographs.1977, Susan Sontag, “The Heroism of Vision”, in On Photography, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, page 77:
Synonyms of surfeit
5 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of surfeit
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more surfeit |
| superlative | most surfeit |
| Noun | |
| plural | surfeits |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | surfeits |
| present participle | surfeiting |
| past participle | surfeited |
| past | surfeited |
Origin of surfeit
From Middle English surfeite, surfet, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman surfet, surfeit and Old French sorfet, sorfait, past participle of surfaire (“to augment, exaggerate, exceed”), from sur- (“over”) + faire (“to do”). The adjective is derived from the noun.
Words formed from surfeit
Phrases with surfeit
Questions about surfeit
- What does surfeit mean?
- Surfeit means sated; surfeited; filled.
- What is surfeit in Tamil?
- Surfeit in Tamil is மடுப்பு, கழிமிகைத் துய்ப்பு, உணவின் மிதமிஞ்சிய அளவு. See Surfeit meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use surfeit in a sentence?
- If he said of a dish, in the local tongue: “I could do a bit of that!” or if he simply smacked his lips over it, she would surfeit him with that dish.
- What part of speech is surfeit?
- Surfeit can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce surfeit?
- Surfeit is pronounced /ˈsɜː.fɪt/ (UK).
Words near surfeit in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: surfeit (page history and authors); surfeit (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); surfeit (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); surfeit (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); surfeit (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); surfeit (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-surfeit.ogg.
Cite this entry: “surfeit.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/surfeit. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.