🇫🇷French Source WordCode: FR

superficiel

Pronunciation / Transliteration: syu-pair-fi-syel

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Superficial/ˌsuː.pəˈfɪʃ.əl/
adjectiveCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #2850 frequency
Full Thesaurus
🇫🇷 Example Sentence in French:

"Son analyse était superficielle."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As adjective
  1. 1

    Existing or occurring at or on the surface; not deep or serious.

    "The superficial layer of paint was easily scratched off."
  2. 2

    Concerned only with the obvious or apparent; lacking depth of understanding.

    "His superficial analysis failed to address the underlying issues."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from the Latin adjective superficialis, formed from superficies meaning 'surface' (itself a compound of super- 'over, above' and facies 'face, form'). Entering Middle English via Old French in the late 14th century, the term initially retained a strictly literal geometrical sense relating to surfaces before shifting metaphorically to describe a lack of depth, seriousness, or thoroughness.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Superficial"?

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Superficial"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Superficial" Synonym Map