superficial

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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌsuː.pəˈfɪʃ.əl/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌsu.pɚˈfɪʃ.əl/

  • Audio (Southern California):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌsʉː.pəˈfɪʃ.əl/
• Rhymes: -ɪʃəl

superficial (comparative more superficial, superlative most superficial)

1. (relational) Existing, occurring, or located on the surface.

   Synonym: surficial

   2. (anatomy, relational, often with to) Closer to the surface of the body; especially, situated or occurring on the skin or immediately beneath it.

      Antonym: deep

      superficial muscles

      The epidermis is superficial to the subcutis.

      • 2018 November 8, Dr. Melina Jampolis, “The real science behind fascia ailments”, in CNN‎^[1]:

        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.

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

   Synonym: external

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

   Synonyms: cursory, skin-deep, surface-level

   Antonyms: in-depth, thorough

   • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:

     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.

   1. ​Lacking depth of character or understanding; lacking substance or significance.

      Synonym: shallow

      Antonym: substantive

      • 2014, "Little Green Men": A Primer on Modern Russian Unconventional Warfare, Ukraine 2013–2014‎^[2], Fort Bragg, North Carolina: The United States Army Special Operations Command, page 43:

        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

4. (rare) Two-dimensional; drawn on a flat surface.
5. (British, architecture) Denoting a quantity of a material expressed in terms of area covered rather than linear dimension or volume.

   Synonym: square

   one superficial foot

• superficiary

• (anatomy): topical

superficial (plural superficials)

1. (usually in the plural) A surface detail.

   He always concentrates on the superficials and fails to see the real issue.

• superfice (archaic)

• “superficial”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “superficial”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Borrowed from Latin superficiālis.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [su.pər.fi.siˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [su.peɾ.fi.siˈal]

superficial m or f (masculine and feminine plural superficials)

1. superficial

• superficialitat
• superficialment

• superfície

• “superficial”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “superficial”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “superficial” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “superficial” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

From Latin superficiālis.

• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: su‧per‧fi‧cial

superficial m or f (plural superficiais)

1. superficial
2. surficial; of the surface

• superficialidade
• superficialmente

• superficie

• “superficial”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

superficial (not comparable)

1. superficial (pertaining to the surface)

• superficie

Learned borrowing from Latin superficiālis. By surface analysis, superfície +‎ -al.

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: su‧per‧fi‧ci‧al

superficial m or f (plural superficiais)

1. superficial (comprising a surface)

   camada superficial ― surface layer

2. superficial; shallow (not reaching or penetrating deep)

   ferida superficial ― superficial wound

3. shallow (overly concerned with superficial matters)

   pessoa superficial ― shallow person

4. superficial (lacking thoroughness or attention to minor details)

   análise superficial ― superficial analysis

• superficialidade
• superficialismo
• superficialmente

• superfície

• “superficial”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Borrowed from French superficiel. By surface analysis, superficie +‎ -al.

superficial m or n (feminine singular superficială, masculine plural superficiali, feminine and neuter plural superficiale)

1. shallow (about people)

• superficialitate

Borrowed from Latin superficiālis.

• IPA^(key): /supeɾfiˈθjal/ [su.peɾ.fiˈθjal] (Spain)
• IPA^(key): /supeɾfiˈsjal/ [su.peɾ.fiˈsjal] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: su‧per‧fi‧cial

superficial m or f (masculine and feminine plural superficiales)

1. superficial
2. shallow (lacking substance)

   Antonym: profundo

• “superficial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024