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• superior
  superior

  adjective

  higher in station, rank, degree, importance, etc..
• Superior
  Superior

  noun

  Lake Superior, a lake in the north central United States and southern Canada: the northernmost of the Great Lakes; the largest body of fresh water in the world. 350 miles (564 kilometers) long; 31,820 square miles (82,415 square kilometers); greatest depth, 1,290 feet (393 meters); 602 feet (183 meters) above sea level.

superior

¹ American  

[suh-peer-ee-er, soo-] / səˈpɪər i ər, sʊ- /

adjective

1. higher in station, rank, degree, importance, etc..

   a superior officer.

2. above the average in excellence, merit, intelligence, etc..

   superior math students.

   Synonyms:

   matchless, first-rate, unrivaled, distinguished, excellent

3. of higher grade or quality.

   superior merchandise.

4. greater in quantity or amount.

   superior numbers.

5. showing a consciousness or feeling of being better than or above others.

   superior airs.

   Synonyms:

   snobbish, arrogant, haughty

6. not yielding or susceptible (usually followed byto ).

   to be superior to temptation.

7. higher in place or position.

   We moved our camp to superior ground.

8. Botany.

   1. situated above some other organ.

   2. (of a calyx) seeming to originate from the top of the ovary.

   3. (of an ovary) free from the calyx.

9. Anatomy. (of an organ or part)

   1. higher in place or position; situated above another.

   2. toward the head.

10. Printing. written or printed high on a line of text, as the “2” in a 2 b; superscript.

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noun

• superiors
  plural

1. one superior to another.

2. Also called superscript.  Printing. a superior letter, number, or symbol.

3. Ecclesiastical. the head of a monastery, convent, or the like.

Superior ² American  

[suh-peer-ee-er, soo-] / səˈpɪər i ər, sʊ- /

noun

1. Lake Superior, a lake in the north central United States and southern Canada: the northernmost of the Great Lakes; the largest body of fresh water in the world. 350 miles (564 kilometers) long; 31,820 square miles (82,415 square kilometers); greatest depth, 1,290 feet (393 meters); 602 feet (183 meters) above sea level.

2. a port in northwestern Wisconsin, on Lake Superior.

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superior ¹ British  

/ suːˌpɪərɪˈɒrɪtɪ, suːˈpɪərɪə /

adjective

1. greater in quality, quantity, etc

2. of high or extraordinary worth, merit, etc

3. higher in rank or status

   a superior tribunal

4. displaying a conscious sense of being above or better than others; supercilious

5. not susceptible (to) or influenced (by)

6. placed higher up; situated further from the base

7. astronomy

   1. (of a planet) having an orbit further from the sun than the orbit of the earth

   2. (of a conjunction) occurring when the sun lies between the earth and an inferior planet

8. (of a plant ovary) situated above the calyx and other floral parts

9. anatomy (of one part in relation to another) situated above or higher

10. printing (of a character) written or printed above the line; superscript

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noun

1. a person or thing of greater rank or quality

2. printing a character set in a superior position

3. (often capital) the head of a community in a religious order

Superior ² British  

/ sjuː-, suːˈpɪərɪə /

noun

1. a lake in the N central US and S Canada: one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world and westernmost of the Great Lakes. Area: 82 362 sq km (31 800 sq miles)

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Usage

Superior should not be used with than: he is a better (not a superior ) poet than his brother; his poetry is superior to (not superior than ) his brother's

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• superioress
  noun
• superiority
  noun
• quasi-superior
  adjective
• unsuperior
  adjective
• superiorly
  adverb
• unsuperiorly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• superiors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of superior¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (adjective), from Latin, equivalent to super(us) “situated above” (adjective derivative of super; see super-) + -ior, comparative suffix; see -er ⁴

Origin of Superior²

First recorded in 1780–85; translation of French Lac Supérieur “Upper Lake” (i.e., the lake above Lake Huron), or “Higher Lake” (in elevation above sea level)

Explanation

The salesman boasted to his customer that the $1 million car was well worth the price because it was far superior, meaning of higher quality, to any car that had come before it. This car, the salesman bragged, could fly. Superior comes from the Latin word meaning above and it literally means something that is above others in quality or status. Sometimes being superior can be perceived as a negative, as in the woman who acts superior to all of her friends, having a high opinion of herself just because she has millions of dollars in the bank after winning the lottery.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

superior Superior superiors

There’s good news in Brian Cox returning as their cranky superior, except it looks like two days of work, tops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Ultimately, the superior court remanded the case back to the board of labor relations, which, having already ruled against her and joined the case against her on appeal, will now hear Ms. Williamson’s case again.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

EasyJet last month said that Apollo's informal bid, valued also at £5.7 billion, delivered a "superior outcome" for shareholders compared to the Castlelake proposal.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

Typically, the state court — a probate court or superior court — has the power to appoint a guardian/conservator to look after his interests.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Prometheus, then, took over the task of creation and thought out a way to make mankind superior.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

On Monday, a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury found that Manuel “Snuffy” Quintero was the intruder who got away those early morning hours of Nov. 3, 2010.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm sentenced Gray to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm said sentencing juveniles to life imprisonment without parole was unusual because of their youth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

After Gray pleaded guilty to 55 charges, the hearing moved to the sentencing phase, during which Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm will determine the penalty.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

My turn came and I stood in front of the big desk with holy pictures under the glass while the Sister Superior read my letter.

From "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros

They have the authority to approve loans on their own but aren’t able to decline them without authorization from superiors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

First-year mids, Crew said, are actually required to read two news articles daily, and to discuss them with their superiors.

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026

Those officers "could either on their own initiative or following orders from their superiors" help "facilitate an escape that would make it impossible for the accused to be available to justice", he wrote.

From Barron's ● Jun. 20, 2026

They would funnel information and boil down data to pithy takeaways for their superiors.

From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026

The teacher had not received any credit from his superiors for uncovering the escape plot.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

Related Words

• admirable
• exceptional
• first-rate
• good
• high-caliber
• preferable
• remarkable
• superhuman