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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Superficial \Su'per*fi"cial\, adjective [L. superficialis: cf. F. superficiel. See {Superficies}.]
1. 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.
2. 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.
This superficial tale Is but a preface of her worthy praise. --Shak.
He is a presumptuous and superficial writer. --Burke.
That superficial judgment, which happens to be right without deserving to be so. --J. H. Newman. -- {Su'per*fi"cial*ly}, adverb -- {Su'per*fi"cial*ness}, noun
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
superficial
adjective
1: being or affecting or concerned with a surface; 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" [ant: {profound}]
2: relating to a surface; "superficial measurements"; "the superficial area of the wall"
3: of little substance or significance; "a few superficial editorial changes"; "only trivial objections" [syn: {trivial}]
4: involving a surface only; "her beauty is only skin-deep"; "superficial bruising"; "a surface wound" [syn: {skin-deep}, {surface(a)}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
208 Moby Thesaurus words for "superficial": 3-D, airy, amateur, amateurish, ankle-deep, apparent, appearing, arid, asinine, barren, birdbrained, birdwitted, blah, blank, bloodless, catchpenny, characterless, cold, colorless, conventionalized, cortical, cosmetic, critical, cubic, cursory, dabbling, dead, depthless, dilettante, dilettantish, dimensional, dismal, draggy, drearisome, dreary, dry, dryasdust, dull, dusty, effete, elephantine, empty, epidermal, epidermic, etiolated, exomorphic, expeditious, exterior, external, extrinsic, fade, fatuous, featherbrained, festinate, feverish, few, flat, flighty, flimsy, fluffy, flying, foolish, footling, formal, formalist, formalistic, formulary, fourth-dimensional, fribble, fribbling, fringe, frivolous, frothy, furious, futile, general, half-assed, half-baked, half-cocked, hasty, heavy, ho-hum, hollow, hurried, idle, immature, immediate, impersonal, inane, inconsequential, inconsiderable, inexcitable, insignificant, insipid, instant, insubstantial, jejune, knee-deep, last-minute, leaden, legalistic, lifeless, light, little, low, low-spirited, meager, meaningless, miniature, negligible, no great shakes, nominal, not deep, nugacious, nugatory, on the spot, on the surface, open, ostensible, otiose, out, outer, outermost, outlying, outmost, outside, outstanding, outward, outward-facing, pale, pallid, passing, pedantic, pedestrian, perfunctory, peripheral, petty, picayune, picayunish, plodding, pointless, poky, ponderous, prompt, proportional, public, quick, roundabout, sciolistic, seeming, shallow, shallow-headed, shallow-minded, shallow-pated, shallow-rooted, shallow-witted, shoal, short, silly, sketchy, skin-deep, slap-bang, slapdash, slender, slight, slow, small, smattering, snap, solemn, sophomoric, space, space-time, spatial, spatiotemporal, speedy, spherical, spiritless, stereoscopic, sterile, stiff, stodgy, stuffy, stylized, surface, swift, tasteless, tedious, thin, three-dimensional, tiny, trifling, trite, trivial, two-dimensional, uncritical, unimportant, unlively, unprofound, urgent, vacuous, vain, vapid, visible, volatile, volumetric, windy, wooden
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |