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

Example Sentences

Studies exploring skin-deep resilience have found evidence of a health toll in outwardly resilient young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds, including higher risk of inflammation, immune cell aging, metabolic disorders, and chronic disease.

From Science Daily • Jan. 4, 2024

A class on nonverbal communication was particularly resonant: “Posing, if we think about it on the skin-deep level, could be very shallow,” Suh says.

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2022

Solidarity with the brave people of Ukraine has reminded us all what is possible when empathy is really felt, but it will be bittersweet if our solidarity is really just skin-deep.

From Washington Post • Feb. 28, 2022

Is it a surprise, then, that for the first time in the show, the performances, under Marc Bruni’s otherwise hectic and skin-deep direction, strike real notes and admit real feeling?

From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2021

Maybe it would just be melodrama, a skin-deep slash or two, her old theatricality; though perhaps theatrical people are not less risky, but more.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood