superficial en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˌsuːpəˈfɪʃəl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (California, Southern) audio
- [ˌsʊu̯pəˈfɪʃəl] ~ [ˌsʊu̯pəˈfɪʃl̩] (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˌsupɚˈfɪʃəl/ (General-American)
- [ˌsʊu̯pɚˈfɪʃəl] ~ [ˌsʊu̯pɹ̩ˈfɪʃl̩] (General-American)
Etymology
Borrowing from Late Latin superficiālis (“of or belonging to the surface”), from superficiēs (“top, surface”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).
Meanings
- (relational) Existing, occurring, or located on the surface.
-
(often, relational, with to) Existing, occurring, or located on the surface. ▸ Close to the surface of the body; especially, situated or occurring on the skin or immediately beneath it.
Investigators also noted a drop of blood on the headrest and backseat, which were consistent with superficial cuts.
2026 July 18, Nicholas Muhoro, “Bryce Laspisa Vanished Near Castaic Lake After Spending 13 Hours Parked on a California Highway”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 19 Jul 2026:The superficial fascia surrounds the body and includes subcutaneous fat; the deep fascia surrounds the musculoskeletal system; the meningeal fascia surrounds the nervous system; the visceral fascia surrounds body cavities and organs.
2018 November 8, Dr. Melina Jampolis, “The real science behind fascia ailments”, in CNN:superficial muscles
The epidermis is superficial to the subcutis.
- Appearing to be true or real only until examined more closely.
-
Not thorough, deep, or complete; concerned only with the obvious or apparent.
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.
1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:
-
Not thorough, deep, or complete; concerned only with the obvious or apparent. ▸ Lacking depth of character or understanding; lacking substance or significance.
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
2014, "Little Green Men": A Primer on Modern Russian Unconventional Warfare, Ukraine 2013–2014, Fort Bragg, North Carolina: The United States Army Special Operations Command, page 43:
- (rare) Two-dimensional; drawn on a flat surface.
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(UK) Denoting a quantity of a material expressed in terms of area covered rather than linear dimension or volume.
one superficial foot
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most superficial | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more superficial | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Antonyms
deep · thorough · thorough · in-depth · substantive · in-depth
Deriveds
superficial vein · superficialist · superficialness · superficial temporal artery · subsuperficial · superficialise · superficially · nonsuperficial · superficiality · unsuperficial · superficial fascia · superficialize · superficialism
Relateds
Synonyms
sketchy · smattering · sketchy · shallow · glib · surface-level · facile · facile · cursory · skin-deep · surface-level · surficial · smattering · glib · cursory · skin-deep · external · square · surficial
Translations (83)
mi mōhio ngutu (lacking understanding or substance) · es superficial (existing or located on the surface) · fi kaksiulotteinen (two-dimensional, drawn on a flat surface) · hi सतही (existing or located on the surface) · fi pinnallinen (not thorough, concerned with the obvious or apparent) · ar سَطْحِيّ (lacking understanding or substance) · el ρηχός (lacking understanding or substance) · nb overfladisk (existing or located on the surface) · ru пове́рхностный (on or immediately beneath the skin) · it superficiale (existing or located on the surface) · fi pintapuolinen (not thorough, concerned with the obvious or apparent) · hu felszíni (existing or located on the surface) · hu felületi (existing or located on the surface) · zza payaser (lacking understanding or substance) · yi אויבנאויפֿיק (lacking understanding or substance) · ru неглубо́кий (lacking understanding or substance) · cs povrchní (lacking understanding or substance) · lt paviršinis (existing or located on the surface) · fi pinnallinen (existing or located on the surface) · de oberflächlich (on or immediately beneath the skin) · zza sereyran (existing or located on the surface) · lt paviršutiniškas (not thorough, concerned with the obvious or apparent) · ar سَطْحِيّ (existing or located on the surface) · hi सतही (on or immediately beneath the skin) · ru пове́рхностный (lacking understanding or substance) · cmn 表面的 (existing or located on the surface) · el επιφανειακός (not thorough, concerned with the obvious or apparent) · la superficiālis (existing or located on the surface) · fr superficiel (lacking understanding or substance) · cmn 淺層 /浅层 (on or immediately beneath the skin) · sv ytlig (lacking understanding or substance) · cmn 膚淺 /肤浅 (lacking understanding or substance) · cmn 淺 /浅 (on or immediately beneath the skin) · el αβαθής (lacking understanding or substance) · he שִׁטְחִי (existing or located on the surface) · hu felszínes (lacking understanding or substance) · de oberflächlich (existing or located on the surface) · nl oppervlakkig (lacking understanding or substance) · eo supraĵa (lacking understanding or substance) · he שִׁטְחִי (lacking understanding or substance) · nb overfladisk (lacking understanding or substance) · gd faoin (lacking understanding or substance) · grc ἐπιπόλαιος (lacking understanding or substance) · mi kirimoko (on or immediately beneath the skin) · el επιφανειακός (existing or located on the surface) · is yfirborðskenndur (lacking understanding or substance) · hu felületes (lacking understanding or substance) · tr yüzeysel (lacking understanding or substance) · bn উদাসীন (lacking understanding or substance) · pt superficial (existing or located on the surface) · bg повърхностен (existing or located on the surface) · ro superficial (lacking understanding or substance) · fi pinnallinen (lacking understanding or substance) · fi pinta- (on or immediately beneath the skin) · de oberflächlich (lacking understanding or substance) · pl powierzchowny (lacking understanding or substance) · fi pinta- (existing or located on the surface) · yi אויבנאויפֿיק (existing or located on the surface) · tr üstünkörü (lacking understanding or substance) · pl powierzchniowy (existing or located on the surface) · hi सतही (lacking understanding or substance) · it superficiale (lacking understanding or substance) · es superficial (lacking understanding or substance) · lt paviršutiniškas (lacking understanding or substance) · grc ἐπιπόλαιος (existing or located on the surface) · fi pinnallinen (on or immediately beneath the skin) · eo malprofunda (lacking understanding or substance) · nb overfladisk (on or immediately beneath the skin) · uk поверхне́вий (existing or located on the surface) · ca superficial (existing or located on the surface) · tr yüzeysel (existing or located on the surface) · ru пове́рхностный (existing or located on the surface) · fi näennäinen (appearing to be true) · pt superficial (on or immediately beneath the skin) · ca superficial (lacking understanding or substance) · de äußerlich (on or immediately beneath the skin) · da overfladisk (lacking understanding or substance) · mi ākahu (on or immediately beneath the skin) · pt superficial (lacking understanding or substance) · ka ზედაპირული (lacking understanding or substance) · et pinnapealne (lacking understanding or substance) · ka ზედაპირული (existing or located on the surface) · lt preliminarus (not thorough, concerned with the obvious or apparent)