Adjacent Words

Superficial definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SUPERFI'CIAL, a.
1. Being on the surface; not penetrating the substance of a thing; as a superficial color; a superficial covering.
2. Composing the surface or exterior part; as, soil constitutes the superficial part of the earth.
3. Shallow; contrived to cover something.
This superficial tale
Is but a preface to her worthy praise.
4. Shallow; not deep or profound; reaching or comprehending only what is obvious or apparent; as a superficial scholar; superficial knowledge.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: concerned with or comprehending only what is apparent or obvious; not deep or penetrating emotionally or intellectually; "superficial similarities"; "a superficial mind"; "his thinking was superficial and fuzzy"; "superficial knowledge"; "the superficial report didn't give the true picture"; "only superficial differences" [ant: profound]
2: of, affecting, or being on or near the surface; "superficial measurements"; "the superficial area of the wall"; "a superficial wound"
3: of little substance or significance; "a few superficial editorial changes"; "only trivial objections" [syn: superficial, trivial]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin superficialis, from Latin superficies Date: 15th century 1. a. (1) of, relating to, or located near a surface (2) lying on, not penetrating below, or affecting only the surface <superficial wounds> b. British, of a unit of measure square <superficial foot> 2. a. concerned only with the obvious or apparent ; shallow b. seen on the surface ; external c. presenting only an appearance without substance or significance • superficially adverb Synonyms: superficial, shallow, cursory mean lacking in depth or solidity. superficial implies a concern only with surface aspects or obvious features <a superficial analysis of the problem>. shallow is more generally derogatory in implying lack of depth in knowledge, reasoning, emotions, or character <a light, shallow, and frivolous review>. cursory suggests a lack of thoroughness or a neglect of details <gave the letter only a cursory reading>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 of or on the surface; lacking depth (a superficial knowledge; superficial wounds). 2 swift or cursory (a superficial examination). 3 apparent but not real (a superficial resemblance). 4 (esp. of a person) having no depth of character or knowlege; trivial; shallow. 5 Commerce (of a measure) square (cf. SUPER adj. 3). Derivatives: superficiality n. (pl. -ies). superficially adv. superficialness n. Etymology: LL superficialis f. L (as SUPERFICIES)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Superficial Su`per*fi"cial, a. [L. superficialis: cf. F. superficiel. See Superficies.] 1. Of or pertaining to the superficies, or surface; lying on the surface; shallow; not deep; as, a superficial color; a superficial covering; superficial measure or contents; superficial tillage. 2. Reaching or comprehending only what is obvious or apparent; not deep or profound; shallow; -- said especially in respect to study, learning, and the like; as, a superficial scholar; superficial knowledge. This superficial tale Is but a preface of her worthy praise. --Shak. He is a presumptuous and superficial writer. --Burke. That superficial judgment, which happens to be right without deserving to be so. --J. H. Newman. -- Su`per*fi"cial*ly, adv. -- Su`per*fi"cial*ness, n.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you describe someone as superficial, you disapprove of them because they do not think deeply, and have little understanding of anything serious or important. ADJ [disapproval] 2. If you describe something such as an action, feeling, or relationship as superficial, you mean that it includes only the simplest and most obvious aspects of that thing, and not those aspects which require more effort to deal with or understand. Their arguments do not withstand the most superficial scrutiny... His roommate had been pleasant on a superficial level... ADJ 3. Superficial is used to describe the appearance of something or the impression that it gives, especially if its real nature is very different. Despite these superficial resemblances, this is a darker work than her earlier novels... ADJ 4. Superficial injuries are not very serious, and affect only the surface of the body. You can also describe damage to an object as superficial. The 69-year-old clergyman escaped with superficial wounds... = slight ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. External, exterior, outer, on the surface, outward, outside. 2. Shallow, slight.

Moby Thesaurus

3-D, airy, amateur, amateurish, ankle-deep, apparent, appearing, arid, asinine, barren, birdbrained, birdwitted, blah, blank, bloodless, catchpenny, characterless, cold, colorless, conventionalized, cortical, cosmetic, critical, cubic, cursory, dabbling, dead, depthless, dilettante, dilettantish, dimensional, dismal, draggy, drearisome, dreary, dry, dryasdust, dull, dusty, effete, elephantine, empty, epidermal, epidermic, etiolated, exomorphic, expeditious, exterior, external, extrinsic, fade, fatuous, featherbrained, festinate, feverish, few, flat, flighty, flimsy, fluffy, flying, foolish, footling, formal, formalist, formalistic, formulary, fourth-dimensional, fribble, fribbling, fringe, frivolous, frothy, furious, futile, general, half-assed, half-baked, half-cocked, hasty, heavy, ho-hum, hollow, hurried, idle, immature, immediate, impersonal, inane, inconsequential, inconsiderable, inexcitable, insignificant, insipid, instant, insubstantial, jejune, knee-deep, last-minute, leaden, legalistic, lifeless, light, little, low, low-spirited, meager, meaningless, miniature, negligible, no great shakes, nominal, not deep, nugacious, nugatory, on the spot, on the surface, open, ostensible, otiose, out, outer, outermost, outlying, outmost, outside, outstanding, outward, outward-facing, pale, pallid, passing, pedantic, pedestrian, perfunctory, peripheral, petty, picayune, picayunish, plodding, pointless, poky, ponderous, prompt, proportional, public, quick, roundabout, sciolistic, seeming, shallow, shallow-headed, shallow-minded, shallow-pated, shallow-rooted, shallow-witted, shoal, short, silly, sketchy, skin-deep, slap-bang, slapdash, slender, slight, slow, small, smattering, snap, solemn, sophomoric, space, space-time, spatial, spatiotemporal, speedy, spherical, spiritless, stereoscopic, sterile, stiff, stodgy, stuffy, stylized, surface, swift, tasteless, tedious, thin, three-dimensional, tiny, trifling, trite, trivial, two-dimensional, uncritical, unimportant, unlively, unprofound, urgent, vacuous, vain, vapid, visible, volatile, volumetric, windy, wooden