Redundantmore than needed; extra and unnecessary is an adjectivea word that describes a noun or pronoun used in two main ways. It can describe something that is more than necessary, or languagespoken or written words used to communicate that says the same thing twice in different words.
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Redundant Meaning
not needed because there is already enough of it
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: more than is needed, desired, or required
Example: That paragraph is redundant and could be cut.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- extra — Common and natural in everyday use.
- superfluous — Very close in meaning, though a little more formal.
- surplus — Works when something is more than needed.
- spare — Can fit this sense, especially for something left over or not required.
- excess — Used when there is too much of something, though often as a noun as well as an adjective.
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Other Meanings of Redundant
Meaning 2
saying the same thing twice in different words
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: repetition of the same sense in different words
Example: The phrase “free gift” is redundant.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- pleonastic — Used for wording that is unnecessarily wordy or repetitive.
- tautological — A precise term for expressions that repeat the same idea.
- tautologic — A rarer variant of tautological.
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Redundant Synonyms
Similar Meaning
- extra
- superfluous
- surplus
- spare
- excess
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repetition of the same sense in different words
- pleonastic
- tautological
- tautologic
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Common Mistakes
- Using redundant to mean simply ‘repeated’ in all cases; it usually means unnecessary repetition.
- Mixing up the ‘extra/unneeded’ sense with the ‘wordy/repetitive’ sense.
- Using tautological or pleonastic for the general meaning ‘extra’.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does redundant mean?
Redundant can mean unnecessary or more than needed. It can also describe wording that repeats the same idea in different words.
What are common synonyms for redundant?
For the ‘unneeded’ sense, common synonyms include extra, superfluous, surplus, and spare. For the language sense, tautological and pleonastic are close matches.
Is redundant a negative word?
Often, yes. It usually suggests something is unnecessary, wasted, or repeated in a way that adds nothing.
The paragraph above was reviewed by a man