MEPX
Chapter 7 of 11All chapters
  1. 1How to learn a word
  2. 2Roots and affixes
  3. 3Time and presence
  4. 4Attitude and stance
  5. 5Care and precision
  6. 6Honesty and openness
  7. 7Surplus and shortage
  8. 8Change and stability
  9. 9Importance and scale
  10. 10Pairs people mix up
  11. 11Register and tone

Chapter 7 of 11

Surplus and shortage

Redundant, superfluous, scarce.

The words

Redundant means more than is needed. Superfluous means unnecessary and slightly unwelcome. Scarce means in short supply relative to demand.

  • In engineering the surplus is deliberate, which is why a backup system is called redundant and treated as a good thing.
  • Redundant writing repeats what has already been said.

Watch the register

In British English, being made redundant means losing a job. The same word carries a very different weight depending on the room.