What does replete mean?
Replete is a formal adjective meaning full to capacity or abundantly supplied. Its most common use is with "with," as in a story that is replete with vivid detail or a landscape replete with dramatic scenery. The word can suggest abundance, richness, and sometimes an overwhelming excess: a performance may be described as replete with energy, while a meal may leave someone feeling replete, or thoroughly satisfied and having had enough. Although understandable in everyday English, replete is more characteristic of literary, journalistic, or formal writing than of casual speech. Its distinctive value is that it conveys not just the presence of something, but a generous or unusually plentiful supply of it. Replete ultimately comes from Latin, where it means "filled" and derives from the same root behind words such as replenish and deplete.
Filled to capacity, richly supplied, or having an abundance of something.
"The article offers a reading experience replete with surprising connections."
Most often used with "with." The adjective is formal and is especially common in literary and descriptive prose.
Having had enough of something, especially food; thoroughly satisfied.
"The children were replete after eating all the bread and cheese."
This sense is literary and less common in contemporary usage.
Replete means not merely full, but so abundantly supplied that there seems to be no room for anything else.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does replete come from?
Replete comes from Latin replētus, the perfect passive participle of replēre, meaning "to fill again" or "to fill up." The underlying root is the Latin plēre, "to fill," which is also the source of replenish and deplete. The English adjective developed in the early modern period from the Latin form and originally carried a strong sense of being filled or satisfied.
Related word forms
How replete is actually used
Replete is formal and commonly takes the pattern "replete with"; "replete of" is also traditional but less common. Its second sense, meaning having eaten enough, is more literary than modern.