superficialadjective
uk/ˌsuː.pəˈfɪʃ.əl/us/ˌsuː.pɚˈfɪʃ.əl/superficial adjective (NOT SERIOUS)
C2 disapproving (of a person) never thinking about things that are serious or important:
He's fun to be with, but he's very superficial.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Not showing careful thought
- airy
- cuff
- flip
- flippant
- frivolity
- frivolous
- ill-conceived
- incautious
- lightweight
- off the cuff idiom
- pat
- preconceived
- shallow
- shoot
- shoot from the hip idiom
- skin-deep
- thoughtless
- unconsidered
- unthinking
- wild
superficial adjective (NOT COMPLETE)
C2 usually disapproving not complete and involving only the most obvious things:
I thought that article was written at a very superficial level.
The documentary's treatment/analysis of the issues was very superficial.
I only have a superficial (= slight) knowledge of French.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Incomplete
- extent
- fragmentary
- imperfect
- imperfection
- in a manner of speaking idiom
- incomplete
- long
- long story short idiom
- part
- partial
- partially
- partly
- patchy
- point
- scratch/scrape the surface idiom
- surface
- unfinished
- up to a point idiom
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superficial adjective (FALSE APPEARANCE)
appearing to be real or important when this is not true or correct:
There are superficial similarities between the two cars, but really they're very different in terms of performance.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Seeming and purporting to be
- apparent
- as if/though idiom
- by the look(s) of things idiom
- come
- come across
- come over
- face
- ostensible
- outward
- paper
- persona
- prima facie
- purport
- putative
- so-called
- sound
- supposed
- supposedly
- verisimilitude
- you can't judge a book by its cover idiom
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superficial adjective (ONLY ON SURFACE)
only on the surface of something:
superficial damage
The driver only received superficial injuries/cuts/wounds.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Not showing careful thought
- airy
- cuff
- flip
- flippant
- frivolity
- frivolous
- ill-conceived
- incautious
- lightweight
- off the cuff idiom
- pat
- preconceived
- shallow
- shoot
- shoot from the hip idiom
- skin-deep
- thoughtless
- unconsidered
- unthinking
- wild
superficiality
noun [ U ] uk/ˌsuː.pəˌfɪʃ.iˈæl.ə.ti/us/ˌsuː.pɚ.fɪʃ.iˈæl.ə.t̬i/
superficially
adverb uk/ˌsuː.pəˈfɪʃ.əl.i/us/ˌsuː.pɚˈfɪʃ.əl.i/
C2
The job I've been offered is superficially (= seems to be) attractive/appealing, but I think I might find it boring after a while.
The arguments were very superficially discussed.