superficial

Intermediatezipf 3.56

Pronunciation

/ˌsuːpəˈfɪʃəl/(soo-per-FISH-ul)

Part of speech

adjectiveneutral

Chinese

表面的；肤浅的（只涉及表面，缺乏深度或彻底性）

Definition

Existing or occurring at the surface; lacking depth, thoroughness, or genuine understanding.

Word family

  • superficially/ˌsuːpəˈfɪʃəli/(adv)表面上
  • superficiality/ˌsuːpəfɪʃiˈælɪti/(n)肤浅

Collocations

  • superficial wound
  • superficial analysis
  • superficial understanding
  • superficial similarity
  • superficial charm

Examples

  1. 1.The report offers only a superficial analysis — it identifies the symptoms but not the causes. (analysis)
  2. 2.The wound was superficial; the knife had not penetrated far. (medical)

Synonyms

  • shallow/ˈʃæləʊ/— lacking depth; often used for people or ideas
  • cursory/ˈkɜːsəri/— hurried; not thorough
  • skin-deep/ˌskɪnˈdiːp/— only on the surface

Etymology

from Latin "superficialis" = of the surface, from "superficies" = surface (super + facies = face)