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• skin-deep
  skin-deep

  adjective

  superficial or slight; not profound or substantial.
• skin deep
  skin deep

  see beauty is only skin deep.

skin-deep

American  

[skin-deep] / ˈskɪnˈdip /

adjective

1. superficial or slight; not profound or substantial.

   Their sincerity is only skin-deep.

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adverb

1. slightly; superficially.

   He went into the subject only skin-deep.

skin-deep British  

adjective

1. superficial; shallow

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adverb

1. superficially

skin deep Idioms  

1. see beauty is only skin deep.

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Etymology

Origin of skin-deep

First recorded in 1605–15

Explanation

Anything that's skin-deep is shallow or superficial. Your skin-deep commitment to saving the environment isn't terribly serious. You may have heard the saying "beauty is only skin-deep," which means that while someone may be beautiful on the outside, their character—what's inside, and more meaningful—isn't necessarily attractive. The first attested use of skin-deep was in "A Wife," a 1613 poem by Sir Thomas Overbury: "All the carnall beauty of my wife, Is but skin-deep." Its publication infamously resulted in Overbury's murder when its subject deduced that it was about her.

Example Sentences

Q. Skin deep: I’ve been happily married for more than 10 years to a great woman, and we have two amazing kids.

From Slate • Dec. 28, 2020

Skin deep … the electronic tattoo can monitor patient symptoms remotely.

From The Guardian • Mar. 13, 2013

Skin deep purple, varying to some extent in depth of shade, but generally very dark.

From The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Containing Full Descriptions of Nearly Eleven Hundred Species and Varietes; With Directions for Propagation, Culture and Use. by Burr, Fearing

Skin deep, clear-green; rind very thin; flesh bright-red to the centre, sweet, tender, and well-flavored.

From The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Containing Full Descriptions of Nearly Eleven Hundred Species and Varietes; With Directions for Propagation, Culture and Use. by Burr, Fearing

Skin deep purplish-red; neck of medium size; flesh purplish-white, moderately fine-grained, and stronger flavored than that of the Yellow and earlier Red varieties.

From The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Containing Full Descriptions of Nearly Eleven Hundred Species and Varietes; With Directions for Propagation, Culture and Use. by Burr, Fearing