superficial
adjective
su·per·fi·cial
| \ ˌsü-pər-ˈfi-shəl
\
\
Definition of superficial
1a(1)
: of, relating to, or located near a surface
(2)
: lying on, not penetrating below, or affecting only the surface
superficial wounds
2a
: concerned only with the obvious or apparent : shallow
b
: seen on the surface : external
c
: presenting only an appearance without substance or significance
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Other Words from superficial
superficially
\ ˌsü-pər-ˈfi-sh(ə-)lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
Examples of superficial in a Sentence
Wonderbra model Eva Herzigova sued a Canadian underwear company that refused to pay her $30,000 fee because she showed up for the photo shoot with a short haircut that company didn't like. You know, it's shameful in this day and age how superficial and sexist some of these ad execs are.
— Lewis Grossberger, Mediaweek, 14 Apr. 2003
Angelina Jolie goes blond and bubbly and hell hasn't even started freezing over. The brooding brunette donned a Monroe-esque platinum coif for her most recent film, "Life or Something Like It." She plays a superficial reporter who learns what's most important in life—which is, apparently, getting it on with Edward Burns.
— Katerine Stroup et al., Newsweek, 23 July 2001
All this discussion of money may seem a vulgar recital of greed. But that is really just a superficial, simplistic criticism and usually a dishonest one.
— Garth Clark, Ceramics Monthly, October 2001
a superficial analysis of the results
They had a superficial knowledge of the topic.
These superficial changes don't address the underlying problem.
The storm only caused superficial damage to the building.
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Recent Examples on the Web
The structure is almost sure to result in low viewership and superficial answers from candidates operating in isolated, 40-minute silos. — Natasha Geiling, The New Republic, "Make Democratic Leaders Pay for Their Climate Cowardice," 3 Sep. 2019 Anderson is 17 months old, has shrapnel in her right chest, which thank God is superficial. — Sanya Mansoor, Time, "7 People Killed, 22 Injured in Odessa Mass Shooting. Here’s What We Know So Far," 1 Sep. 2019 Besides that, actors who are cast as Mayer, Mickey Rooney and others provide very superficial characterizations. — Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Judy': Film Review | Telluride 2019," 31 Aug. 2019 Just look at the priorities of this state over the last 50 years, citizens come last, the empathy and concern are purely superficial. — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, "Letter: Trump followers complicit in atrocities he’s committing," 15 July 2019 But those rehabs didn't happen or were superficial, the investors claim. — Tim Evans, Indianapolis Star, "Ex-Fox & Friends co-host Clayton Morris leaves country amid fraud allegations," 12 July 2019 On the other, these relationships are often superficial and this is pure torture for introverts. — Jennifer Folsom, NBC News, "Strapped for time? The working mom's guide to networking," 2 July 2019 That also means that the candidates will begin to deal more regularly with the unfortunate realities of active campaigning: Inane questions, horse race coverage, and an overwhelming focus on the superficial over the substantive. — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, "Give Democrats a Chance to Get Serious in Their First Debates," 26 June 2019 All of these ties are relatively superficial, however, when compared to the main reason Durant would sign with the Knicks: to lead a historic franchise in a major media market to its first title since 1973. — Connor Letourneau, SFChronicle.com, "Kevin Durant’s free agency: An in-depth breakdown of the superstar’s options," 26 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'superficial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for superficial
superficial
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of superficial
: concerned only with what is obvious or apparent : not thorough or complete
: affecting only the outer part or surface of something : not deep or serious
: lying close to the surface
See the full definition for superficial in the English Language Learners Dictionary
superficial
adjective
su·per·fi·cial
| \ ˌsü-pər-ˈfi-shəl
\
\
Kids Definition of superficial
1
: of or relating to the surface or appearance only
a superficial cut
2
: not thorough or complete
He has only superficial knowledge of the subject.
superficial
adjective
su·per·fi·cial
| \ ˌsü-pər-ˈfish-əl
\
\
Medical Definition of superficial
1
: of, relating to, or located near the surface
superficial blood vessels
2
: lying on, not penetrating below, or affecting only the surface