Supernumerary — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a person serving no apparent function

a minor actor in crowd scenes

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/sˌuːpɚnˈuːmɚɹˌɛɹi/

🇬🇧British English

/sˌuːpənjˈuːməɹəɹi/

🇮🇳Indian English

/sˌuːpənjˈuːməɹəɹi/

6 syllables Say it as /sˌuːpɚnˈuːmɚɹˌɛɹi/.

Examples

reducing staff is difficult because our employees include no supernumeraries
trying to lose excess weight
found some extra change lying on the dresser

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

supererogatory superfluous surplus extra redundant spare spear carrier excess

Parts of Speech

noun	a person serving no apparent function “reducing staff is difficult because our employees include no supernumeraries”
noun	a minor actor in crowd scenes
adjective	more than is needed, desired, or required “trying to lose excess weight”

Word Forms

supernumerary	adjective	more than is needed, desired, or required
redundance	noun	the attribute of being superfluous and unneeded
redundancy	noun	repetition of messages to reduce the probability of errors in transmission
superfluity	noun	extreme excess
supernumerary	noun	a person serving no apparent function

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

überzählig

eine Person, die keine offensichtliche Funktion ausübt

🇫🇷French

surnuméraire

une personne qui n'exerce aucune fonction apparente

🇪🇸Spanish

supernumerario

una persona que no cumple ninguna función aparente

🇮🇹Italian

soprannumerario

una persona che non svolge alcuna funzione apparente

🇳🇱Dutch

boventallig

een persoon die geen duidelijke functie vervult

🇵🇹Portuguese

supranumerário

uma pessoa que não desempenha nenhuma função aparente

🇷🇺Russian

сверхштатный

человек, не выполняющий никакой очевидной функции

India

🇮🇳Hindi

फ़ालतू

ऐसा व्यक्ति जो कोई स्पष्ट कार्य नहीं कर रहा हो

🇧🇩Bengali

অতিসংখ্যা

কোন আপাত ফাংশন পরিবেশন করা একজন ব্যক্তি

🇮🇳Tamil

மேலதிக எண்

வெளிப்படையான செயல்பாடு இல்லாத ஒரு நபர்

🇮🇳Telugu

సూపర్న్యూమరీ

స్పష్టమైన పనితీరును అందించని వ్యక్తి

🇮🇳Marathi

अतिसंख्या

कोणतीही स्पष्ट कार्य करणारी व्यक्ती

🇮🇳Gujarati

અતિસંખ્યા

કોઈ દેખીતી કામગીરી ન કરતી વ્યક્તિ

🇮🇳Kannada

ಅತ್ಯಧಿಕ

ಯಾವುದೇ ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟ ಕಾರ್ಯವನ್ನು ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸದ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

സൂപ്പർ ന്യൂമററി

പ്രത്യക്ഷമായ ഒരു പ്രവർത്തനവും ചെയ്യാത്ത ഒരു വ്യക്തി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਅਲੌਕਿਕ

ਇੱਕ ਵਿਅਕਤੀ ਜੋ ਕੋਈ ਸਪੱਸ਼ਟ ਕਾਰਜ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਰਦਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

غیر معمولی

ایک شخص جو کوئی ظاہری کام نہیں کر رہا ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

多余的

没有明显职能的人

🇯🇵Japanese

過剰な

明らかな役割を果たしていない人

🇰🇷Korean

정원 외의

뚜렷한 기능을 수행하지 않는 사람

🇻🇳Vietnamese

dư

một người phục vụ không có chức năng rõ ràng

🇹🇭Thai

เกิน

บุคคลที่ไม่มีหน้าที่ที่ชัดเจน

🇮🇩Indonesian

figuran

seseorang yang tidak melakukan fungsi yang jelas

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

زائدة

شخص لا يخدم أي وظيفة واضحة

🇮🇷Persian

اضافی

شخصی که هیچ عملکرد ظاهری ندارد

🇹🇷Turkish

fazladan

görünürde hiçbir işlevi olmayan kişi

🇮🇱Hebrew

מוּסָף

אדם שאינו ממלא תפקיד נראית לעין

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'supernumerary'?

The primary meaning of 'supernumerary' is 'a person serving no apparent function'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'supernumerary' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'supernumerary' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'supernumerary' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'supernumerary' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'supernumerary' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'supernumerary' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'supernumerary' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'supernumerary' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'supernumerary' in a professional email?

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Never

Would you classify 'supernumerary' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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