superficial

(sū'pər-fĭsh'əl)
adj.

1. Of, affecting, or being on or near the surface: a superficial wound.
2. Concerned with or comprehending only what is apparent or obvious; shallow.
3. Apparent rather than actual or substantial: a superficial resemblance.
4. Trivial; insignificant: made only a few superficial changes in the manuscript.

[Middle English, from Old French superficiel, from Latin superficiālis, from superficiēs, surface. See superficies.]

superficiality su'per·fi'ci·al'i·ty (-fĭsh'ē-ăl'ĭ-tē) or su'per·fi'cial·ness (-fĭsh'əl-nĭs) n.
superficially su'per·fi'cial·ly adv.

View more Health videos

adjective

1. Lacking in intellectual depth or thoroughness: cursory, one-dimensional, shallow, sketchy, skin-deep, uncritical. See surface/depth.
2. Appearing as such but not necessarily so: apparent, external, ostensible, ostensive, outward, seeming. See surface/depth.

adj

Definition: without depth, detail; false
Antonyms: analytical, authentic, careful, deep, detailed, genuine, real, thorough

Toward the surface of the body or body structure. See also directional terms.

Situated on or near the surface.

• s. necrolytic dermatitis — frequently associated with glucagon-secreting tumors of the pancreas and with cases of diabetes mellitus or chronic hepatitis; called also hepatocutaneous syndrome; lesions are erythematous, erosive, ulcerative and crusted with marked hyperkeratosis of the footpads.
• s. plexus skin — see subpapillary plexus of skin.
• s. pustular dermatitis — see superficial pustular dermatitis.

adj

Involving only the surface or to be minor in severity, not grave or dangerous.

For a list of words related to superficial, see:

• Ordinary, Dull, Plain, or Banal
• Foolish, Immature, Bigoted, or Trivial

---

See words rhyming with "superficial."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Superficial.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - overfladisk, flade-

Nederlands (Dutch)
oppervlakkig

Français (French)
adj. - superficiel

Deutsch (German)
adj. - oberflächlich, äußerlich

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - επιφανειακός, επιπόλαιος, επιδερμικός, (μτφ.) αβαθής, ρηχός, φαινομενικός

Italiano (Italian)
superficiale, frivolo

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - superficial

Русский (Russian)
поверхностный, несерьезный, кажущийся

Español (Spanish)
adj. - superficial, poco profundo

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - ytlig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
表面的, 浅薄的, 肤浅的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 表面的, 淺薄的, 膚淺的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 표면상의, 외면의, 면적의

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 表面の, 表在性の, 面積の, 深みのない, 上滑りな

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) سطحي , طاهري‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮שטחי, רדוד, לא עמוק, כוזב (מראה-עיניים), של שטח (יחידת-מידה)‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.