Superficial

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Superficial \Su`per*fi"cial\, a. [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.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              This superficial tale
              Is but a preface of her worthy praise. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              He is a presumptuous and superficial writer.
                                                    --Burke.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              That superficial judgment, which happens to be right
              without deserving to be so.           --J. H.
                                                    Newman.
        [1913 Webster] -- {Su`per*fi"cial*ly}, adv. --
        {Su`per*fi"cial*ness}, n.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  superficial
       adj 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