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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 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

Skin deep, rich crimson; flesh bright-pink, or rose-color,—the rind being thick and hard, and not readily reduced to a pulp when cooked.

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