Dictionary

Übermensch en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈuː.bəˌmɛnʃ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈu.bəɹˌmɛnʃ/ (General-American)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from German Übermensch.

Meanings

1. (offensive, qualifier:Nietzschean philosophy) An overman (“higher” man) who has overcome (transcended) his (mere) humanity.
   • What does he mean when he speaks of the value of one type of man as greater than that of another? Nietzsche himself has remarked elsewhere that one can never too carefully consider the question “value for what?” And in these terms one might try to explain what he says about the value of certain men. Perhaps he means that the contribution they make to life in general — by their optimism and fearlessness for instance — makes them valuable to us all. Or perhaps he is judging their value by the contribution they make to the future. Are they not a bridge to the superior man who may come in the future — to the Übermensch? Neither suggestion tells the whole story, and the second simply shifts the problem. If the “Overman” or “Superman” is the one who gives some men value, this must be because he has value himself. 1973, Philippa Foot, “Nietzsche: The Revaluation of Values”, in Robert C. Solomon, Garden City, New York, editors, Nietzsche: A Collection of Critical Essays, Anchor Books, →ISBN, pages 162–163:
2. (offensive, qualifier:Nazism and white supremacy) A member of the proposed Aryan super race.

Forms

Antonyms

untermensch · untermensch

Coordinates

megalopsychos · knight of faith

Relateds

subhuman · posthuman · ultrahuman · transhuman · superhuman · nonhuman · unhuman

Synonyms

overman · superman

Translations (30)

mk на́тчовек (figure in Nazi ideology) · cs nadčlověk (figure in Nazi ideology) · el υπεράνθρωπος (figure in Nietzschean philosophy) · vi siêu nhân (figure in Nazi ideology) · ru сверхчелове́к (figure in Nazi ideology) · hi अतिमानव (figure in Nietzschean philosophy) · pl nadczłowiek (figure in Nietzschean philosophy) · yi איבערמענטש (figure in Nietzschean philosophy) · de Übermensch (figure in Nazi ideology) · sk übermenš (figure in Nietzschean philosophy) · cmn 超人 (figure in Nazi ideology) · de Übermensch (figure in Nietzschean philosophy) · pt super-homem (figure in Nietzschean philosophy) · da overmenneske (figure in Nazi ideology) · uk надлюди́на (figure in Nietzschean philosophy) · es superhombre (figure in Nietzschean philosophy) · fi yli-ihminen (figure in Nazi ideology) · pl nadczłowiek (figure in Nazi ideology) · cmn 超人 (figure in Nietzschean philosophy) · ko 초인 (figure in Nazi ideology) · sk nadčlovek (figure in Nazi ideology) · sh natčovek (figure in Nazi ideology) · sh nadčovek (figure in Nazi ideology) · ru сверхчелове́к (figure in Nietzschean philosophy) · uk надлюди́на (figure in Nazi ideology) · fr surhomme (figure in Nazi ideology) · sv övermänniska (figure in Nazi ideology) · mk на́дчовек (figure in Nazi ideology) · pt super-homem (figure in Nazi ideology) · vi siêu nhân (figure in Nietzschean philosophy)