Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

superficial

/ˌsupɚˈfɪʃəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.56 in modern English

Syllables: sup-er-fi-cial
IPA: /ˌsupɚˈfɪʃəl/

18

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

4

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Existing, occurring, or located on the surface.

adj

Existing, occurring, or located on the surface.

adj

Appearing to be true or real only until examined more closely.

adj

Not thorough, deep, or complete; concerned only with the obvious or apparent.

adj

Not thorough, deep, or complete; concerned only with the obvious or apparent.

adj

Two-dimensional; drawn on a flat surface.

adj

Denoting a quantity of a material expressed in terms of area covered rather than linear dimension or volume.

British usage

noun

A surface detail.

Example Sentences

"superficial muscles"
"The epidermis is superficial to the subcutis."
"The superficial fascia surrounds the body and includes subcutaneous fat; the deep fascia surrounds the musculoskeletal system; the meningeal fascia surrounds the nervous system; the visceral fascia surrounds body cavities and organs."
"Investigators also noted a drop of blood on the headrest and backseat, which were consistent with superficial cuts."
"Secondly, I continue to base my concepts on intensive study of a limited suite of collections, rather than superficial study of every packet that comes to hand."
"These infamous little green men appeared during the decisive seizures or buildings and facilities, only to disappear when associated militias and local troops arrived to consolidate the gains. In this way they provided a measure of deniability—however superficial or implausible—for Moscow.⁴⁰"

Etymology

Borrowing from Late Latin superficiālis (“of or belonging to the surface”), from superficiēs (“top, surface”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).

Word Breakdown

Root: superficiālis

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌsupɚˈfɪʃəl/
British English: /ˌsuːpəˈfɪʃəl/

Usage

British usage

Inflected Forms

more superficial (comparative) most superficial (superlative) superficials (plural)

Derived Forms

nonsuperficial subsuperficial superficialism superficialist superficiality superficialize superficialise superficially superficialness unsuperficial

Phrases

superficial fascia superficial temporal artery superficial vein

Frequently Paired Words

superficiary topical superfice

Synonyms

surficial external cursory facile sketchy glib skin-deep smattering surface-level shallow square

Antonyms

deep in-depth thorough substantive

Rhymes With

official initial artificial judicial beneficial unofficial sacrificial interstitial prejudicial fishel mischel rishel

Questions

How do you pronounce superficial?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌsupɚˈfɪʃəl/.
What does superficial mean?: Existing, occurring, or located on the surface.
Where does superficial come from?: Borrowing from Late Latin superficiālis (“of or belonging to the surface”), from superficiēs (“top, surface”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).

How to pronounce superficial

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “superficial”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌsupɚˈfɪʃəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “superficial”.
Repeat and practice — Say “superficial” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.