superimposed

[ soo-per-im-pohzd ]

adjective

1. being or relating to something that is placed over something else, usually characterized by some degree of transparency so that both the background and foreground objects are visible:

   The title credits appeared over the dusky opening scene in superimposed white text.

2. Geology. (of a stream or drainage system) having a course not adjusted to the structure of the rocks presently undergoing erosion but determined instead by a prior erosion cycle or by formerly overlying rocks or sediments.
3. Botany. (of a plant part) growing one over another, but separately, as in layers:

   The superimposed whorls of petals give these begonia blossoms a roselike appearance.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of superimpose.

Word History and Origins

Origin of superimposed¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; superimpose + -ed ²

Example Sentences

A series of images flash onto the screen, superimposed over a bleak landscape.

From The Daily Beast

People will laugh, but for the helicopters and tanks, we just photographed some kids toys and superimposed them.

From The Daily Beast

They superimposed a radar image of the coming storm over a map of the Houston area and broadcast it.

From The Daily Beast

For weeks, Photoshoppers superimposed other images next to McCain, making for some very tongue-in-cheek pictures.

From The Daily Beast

Jurors watched spellbound as a piece of recovered duct tape was superimposed over her tiny nose and mouth.

From The Daily Beast

They lie either singly or superimposed to form more or less irregular clusters (Fig. 36).

From Project Gutenberg

At the southern angle of the block, he found a mass of superimposed rocks, probably fragments of the fallen summit.

From Project Gutenberg

The building has a stone vault, the flat mud roof of the country being superimposed as an outer covering.

From Project Gutenberg

It was a "communistic despotism," a community with a despot and a ruling class superimposed upon its socialism.

From Project Gutenberg

The abacus superimposed might be on a very thin, little more than formal, as at b; but on c must be thick, as at d.

From Project Gutenberg