superficial

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌsuː.pəˈfɪʃ.əl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌsu.pɚˈfɪʃ.əl/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪʃəl

Adjective

superficial (comparative more superficial, superlative most superficial)

1. (relational) Existing, occurring, or located on the surface.

   Synonym: surficial

   1. (anatomy, relational) Situated or occurring on the skin or immediately beneath it.

      superficial muscles

2. Appearing to be true or real only until examined more closely.

   Synonym: external

3. Not thorough, deep, or complete; concerned only with the obvious or apparent.

   Synonym: cursory

   Antonyms: in-depth, thorough

   • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page vii:

     Secondly, I continue to base my concepts on intensive study of a limited suite of collections, rather than superficial study of every packet that comes to hand.

   1. ​Lacking depth of character or understanding; lacking substance or significance.

      Synonym: shallow

      Antonym: substantive

      • 2014, "Little Green Men": A Primer on Modern Russian Unconventional Warfare, Ukraine 2013–2014‎^[1], Fort Bragg, North Carolina: The United States Army Special Operations Command, page 43:

        These infamous little green men appeared during the decisive seizures or buildings and facilities, only to disappear when associated militias and local troops arrived to consolidate the gains. In this way they provided a measure of deniability—however superficial or implausible—for Moscow.⁴⁰

4. (rare) Two-dimensional; drawn on a flat surface.
5. (Britain, architecture) Denoting a quantity of a material expressed in terms of area covered rather than linear dimension or volume.

   Synonym: square

   one superficial foot

Derived terms

• nonsuperficial
• superficialism
• superficialist
• superficiality
• superficialize, superficialise
• superficially
• superficialness
• superficial temporal artery

 

Related terms

• superficiary

Translations

located on the surface

• Bulgarian: повърхностен (bg) (povǎrhnosten)
• Catalan: superficial (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 表面的 (zh) (biǎomiàn de)

• Georgian: ზედაპირული (zedaṗiruli)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἐπιπόλαιος (epipólaios)

• Hungarian: felszíni, felületi (hu)
• Italian: superficiale (it)

• Latin: superficiālis
• Portuguese: superficial (pt)
• Russian: пове́рхностный (ru) (povérxnostnyj)
• Spanish: superficial (es)
• Turkish: yüzeysel (tr)
• Yiddish: אויבנאויפֿיק‎ (oybnoyfik)
• Zazaki: sereyran

on or immediately beneath the skin

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 淺層, 浅层 (qiǎncéng); 淺 (zh), 浅 (zh) (qiǎn)

• Maori: ākahu, kirimoko

• Portuguese: superficial (pt)
• Russian: пове́рхностный (ru) (povérxnostnyj)

lacking substance

• Arabic: سَطْحِيّ‎ (saṭḥiyy)
• Bengali: উদাসীন (udaśin)
• Catalan: superficial (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 膚淺 (zh), 肤浅 (zh) (fūqiǎn)

• Czech: povrchní (cs)
• Danish: overfladisk
• Dutch: oppervlakkig (nl)
• Esperanto: supraĵa, malprofunda
• Estonian: pinnapealne
• Finnish: pinnallinen (fi)
• French: superficiel (fr)
• Georgian: ზედაპირული (zedaṗiruli)
• German: oberflächlich (de)
• Greek: ρηχός (el) (richós), αβαθής (el) (avathís)

  Ancient: ἐπιπόλαιος (epipólaios)

• Hindi: सतही (sathī)
• Hungarian: felszínes (hu), felületes (hu)
• Icelandic: yfirborðskenndur
• Italian: superficiale (it)
• Maori: mōhio ngutu (of understanding)
• Polish: powierzchowny (pl)
• Portuguese: superficial (pt)
• Romanian: superficial (ro)
• Russian: неглубо́кий (ru) (neglubókij), пове́рхностный (ru) (povérxnostnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: faoin
• Spanish: superficial (es)
• Swedish: ytlig (sv)
• Turkish: yüzeysel (tr), üstünkörü (tr)
• Yiddish: אויבנאויפֿיק‎ (oybnoyfik)
• Zazaki: payaser

Noun

superficial (plural superficials)

1. (usually in the plural) A surface detail.

   He always concentrates on the superficials and fails to see the real issue.

Related terms

• superfice (archaic)

References

• “superficial”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• “superficial”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary.

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin superficiālis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /su.pəɾ.fi.siˈal/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /su.pər.fi.siˈal/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /su.peɾ.fi.siˈal/

Adjective

superficial (masculine and feminine plural superficials)

1. superficial

Derived terms

• superficialitat
• superficialment

Related terms

• superfície

Further reading

• “superficial” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “superficial”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2022
• “superficial” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “superficial” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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Galician

Etymology

From Latin superficiālis.

Adjective

superficial m or f (plural superficiais)

1. superficial
2. surficial; of the surface

Derived terms

• superficialidade
• superficialmente

Related terms

• superficie

Further reading

• “superficial” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

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Interlingua

Adjective

superficial (not comparable)

1. superficial (pertaining to the surface)

Related terms

• superficie

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Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin superficiālis. Equivalent to superfície +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): (Brazil) /su.peʁ.fiˈsjaw/, [su.peh.fiˈsjaʊ̯]

• IPA^(key): (Brazil) /su.peʁ.fiˈsjaw/, [su.peh.fiˈsjaʊ̯]
  • IPA^(key): (São Paulo) /su.peɾ.fiˈsjaw/, [su.peɾ.fiˈsjaʊ̯]
  • IPA^(key): (Rio de Janeiro) /su.peʁ.fiˈsjaw/, [su.peχ.fiˈsjaʊ̯]

• IPA^(key): (Portugal) /su.pɨɾ.fiˈsjal/, [su.pɨɾ.fiˈsjaɫ]

• Hyphenation: su‧per‧fi‧ci‧al
• Rhymes: -al, -aw

Adjective

superficial m or f (plural superficiais, comparable)

1. superficial (comprising a surface)

   camada superficial ― surface layer

2. superficial; shallow (not reaching or penetrating deep)

   ferida superficial ― superficial wound

3. shallow (overly concerned with superficial matters)

   pessoa superficial ― shallow person

4. superficial (lacking thoroughness or attention to minor details)

   análise superficial ― superficial analysis

Derived terms

• superficialidade
• superficialismo
• superficialmente

Related terms

• superfície

Further reading

• “superficial” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

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Romanian

Etymology

From French superficiel

Adjective

superficial m or n (feminine singular superficială, masculine plural superficiali, feminine and neuter plural superficiale)

1. shallow (about people)

Declension

Declension of superficial

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	superficial		superficială	superficiali	superficiale
	definite	superficialul		superficiala	superficialii	superficialele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	superficial		superficiale	superficiali	superficiale
	definite	superficialului		superficialei	superficialilor	superficialelor

Related terms

• superficialitate

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin superficiālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /supeɾfiˈθjal/, [su.peɾ.fiˈθjal]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /supeɾfiˈsjal/, [su.peɾ.fiˈsjal]

Adjective

superficial (plural superficiales)

1. superficial
2. shallow, lacking substance

Derived terms

• agua superficial
• superficialidad
• superficialmente
• tensión superficial

 

Related terms

• superficie

Further reading

• “superficial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014