Superficial
[,suːpə'fɪʃ(ə)l;,sjuː-] or [,supɚ'fɪʃl]
Definition
(adj.) concerned with or comprehending only what is apparent or obvious; not deep or penetrating emotionally or intellectually; 'superficial similarities'; 'a superficial mind'; 'his thinking was superficial and fuzzy'; 'superficial knowledge'; 'the superficial report didn't give the true picture'; 'only superficial differences' .
(adj.) of little substance or significance; 'a few superficial editorial changes'; 'only trivial objections' .
(adj.) of, affecting, or being on or near the surface; 'superficial measurements'; 'the superficial area of the wall'; 'a superficial wound' .
Edited by Ivan--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Of or pertaining to the superficies, or surface; lying on the surface; shallow; not deep; as, a superficial color; a superficial covering; superficial measure or contents; superficial tillage.
(a.) Reaching or comprehending only what is obvious or apparent; not deep or profound; shallow; -- said especially in respect to study, learning, and the like; as, a superficial scholar; superficial knowledge.
Typist: Nora
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. External, exterior, outer, on the surface.[2]. Shallow, slight, smattering, not deep, not thorough, not profound.
Typist: Nadine
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Light, slight, imperfect, showy, external, flimsy, surface, shallow,smattering, skin-deep
ANT:Deep, profound, abstruse, recondite, accurate, exact, deep-seated
Inputed by Elisabeth
Examples
- It was the superficial unreal world of fact. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Too often the pupil comes out with a smattering which is too superficial to be scientific and too technical to be applicable to ordinary affairs. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Her relation with her aunt was as superficial as that of chance lodgers who pass on the stairs. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- We often hear (almost invariably, however, from superficial observers) that guilt can look like innocence. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- With a little familiarity such superficial objections will be forgotten. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- To superficial observers his chin had too vanishing an aspect, looking as if it were being gradually reabsorbed. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- And then you reckon to have so much knowledge; and i' my thoughts it's only superficial sort o' vanities you're acquainted with. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- It is full of inconsistencies, and though borrowed from Plato, shows but a superficial acquaintance with his writings. Plato. The Republic.
- But very superficial, said Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- Such material is relatively technical and superficial. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- His perplexity was only superficial, new conditions reigned, the old were surpassed; here one did as one was possessed to do, no matter what it was. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- It is good to disturb alignments: to break up a superficial unanimity. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- An admiration more superficial might have been more demonstrative; mine, however, was quiet. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- The two big parties have had to preserve a superficial homogeneity; and a platitude is more potent than an issue. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Life is not to be identified with every superficial act and interest. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- But surely the analogy is superficial; the difference profound. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- As to his relations with women, they appeared to have been promiscuous but superficial. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Of course it took time to penetrate into the meat, but the first superficial penetration stopped the injurious effects of germs which set up putrefaction. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- Thus Society escapes, and the illimitable power of Chemistry remains the slave of the most superficial and the most insignificant ends. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I use this crude example because it shows that even the most genuine and deeply grounded demands are as yet unable to free themselves entirely from a superficial manner of thinking. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- These were her superficial considerations; but under them lurked the secret dread that the obligation might not always remain intolerable. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- Oh, remarkably superficial, said Holmes, smiling. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- Each disc of wire composing it contains 676 superficial square inches, and the net has 10 meshes to the inch. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- You poor superficial Englishman, it is to magnify my own self-control. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- My judgment _was_ a very superficial one--such as I am capable of forming, she answered, with a prompt resentment, that needed no rehearsal. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Deliberation will be perfunctory and superficial where there is no interest. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- It was very superficial, my dear Watson, I assure you. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- Their thinking, in short, is perfectly static and literally superficial. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Such changes in the superficial parts of the globe seemed to me unlikely to happen if the earth were solid to the centre. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- A sensitive, vehement, passionate nature--a woman of ten thousand in these trivial, superficial times. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
Inputed by Elisabeth