superfluous
/suˈpɝflu.əs/adjective
superfluous is spelled S-U-P-E-R-F-L-U-O-U-S: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, superfluous means “In excess of what is required or sufficient” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in superfluous?
| Letters | 11: S-U-P-E-R-F-L-U-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,918th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is superfluous?
Superfluous appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce superfluous?
- UK /suːˈpɜːflu.əs/
- UK /sjʊˈpɜːflu.əs/
- US /suˈpɝflu.əs/
Superfluous has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-superfluous.ogg, En-us-superfluous.ogg, En-au-superfluous.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of superfluous
- more superfluous comparative
- most superfluous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does superfluous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
In excess of what is required or sufficient.
With a full rain suit, carrying an umbrella may be superfluous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Superfluous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense excess of what is sufficient:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | superflu |
| German | überflüssig |
| Portuguese | supérfluo |
| Spanish | superfluo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does superfluous come from?
From Middle English superfluous, from Latin superfluus (“superfluous”) + -ous, from superfluō (“overflow”), from super (“above, more than, over”) + fluō (“flow”). Compare mellifluous and fluid, also from Latin. Literally corresponds to overflow, which is from Germanic, rather than Latin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).