Link Centre Dictionary

superficial

su·per·fi·cial

UK/ˌsuːpəˈfɪʃəl/ US/ˌsʊu̯pəˈfɪʃəl] ~ [ˌsʊu̯pəˈfɪʃl̩/ fairly common uk

adjective

1.

being or affecting or concerned with a surface; not deep or penetrating emotionally or intellectually

  • “superficial similarities”
  • “a superficial mind”
  • “his thinking was superficial and fuzzy”
  • “superficial knowledge”
  • “the superficial report didn”
  • “;”
Antonyms
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2.

relating to a surface

  • “superficial measurements”
  • “the superficial area of the wall”
3.

of little substance or significance

  • “a few superficial editorial changes”
  • “only trivial objections”
Synonyms
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4.

involving a surface only

  • “her beauty is only skin-deep”
  • “superficial bruising”
  • “a surface wound”
Synonyms
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Origin

Borrowing from Late Latin superficiālis (“of or belonging to the surface”), from superficiēs (“top, surface”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).

Phrases

  • superficial fascia
  • superficial temporal artery
  • superficial vein

Related words

Word family

See also

Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.