Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of, affecting, or being on or near the surface.
- adjective Concerned with or comprehending only what is apparent or obvious; shallow.
- adjective Apparent rather than actual or substantial.
- adjective Not extensive or important; minor or insignificant.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Lying in or on, or pertaining to, the superficies or surface; not penetrating below the surface, literally or figuratively; being only on the surface; not reaching to the interior or essence; shallow: as, a superficial color; a superficial resemblance.
- Of persons or their mental states or acts, comprehending only what is apparent or obvious; not deep or profound; not thorough.
- In anatomy, not deep-seated or profound; lying on the surface of some part, or near but not on the surface of the whole body; subcutaneous; cutaneous: specifically said of various tissues and structures.
- Synonyms External, exterior, outer.
- Slight, smattering, shallow.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Of or pertaining to the superficies, or surface; lying on the surface; shallow; not deep.
- adjective Reaching or comprehending only what is obvious or apparent; not deep or profound; shallow; -- said especially in respect to study, learning, and the like.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Shallow , lackingsubstance . - adjective At face value.
- adjective Of or pertaining to the
surface . - adjective Being near the
surface . - adjective rare
Two-dimensional ; drawn on aflat surface. - noun chiefly in plural A surface detail.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective of, affecting, or being on or near the surface
- adjective concerned with or comprehending only what is apparent or obvious; not deep or penetrating emotionally or intellectually
- adjective of little substance or significance
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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In the video, she takes aim at what she calls superficial pop culture and the effect it is having on young girls ` images.
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The lacerations probably looked pretty bad right after the accident, but they were what we call superficial.
LET ME CALL YOU SWEETHEART MARY HIGGINS CLARK 2001
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Some men, of whom I wish to speak with great respect, are haunted, as it seems to me, with an unreasonable fear of what they call superficial knowledge.
Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches — Volume 4 Thomas Babington Macaulay Macaulay 1829
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So why would progressives want to participate in superficial nonsense like RePugniScums do?
Think Progress » Bayh Claims ‘There’s A Fighting Chance’ Obama Will Call For A Spending Freeze 2010
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Mr. Parvaiz, 26, suffered what were described as superficial wounds.
Husband Is Charged in N.J. Ambush Sean Gardiner 2011
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Different dog and cat breeds are known for both their differences in superficial characteristics, such as size and color, as well as personality and intelligence differences.
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The industry of the superficial is well funded and outrageously expensive and will do a great deal in helping fund any war or social program.
Obey questions Afghan war, explains his war tax proposal 2009
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Too frequently the stories seem to settle for, at worst, an indulgence in superficial whimsy, at best, a cultivation of the bizarre in situation and event that, at least as I read them, can't bear the weight they're asked to bear when left to provide the primary source of dramatic interest.
Genre Fiction 2010
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He could nimbly reach down into the tumors and, if they were “movable” as he called superficial, noninvasive cancers, pull them out without disturbing the tender architecture of tissues underneath.
The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010
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He could nimbly reach down into the tumors and, if they were “movable” as he called superficial, noninvasive cancers, pull them out without disturbing the tender architecture of tissues underneath.
The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010
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