superficiality
Americannoun
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superficialities
plural
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the fact or quality of being at or near, or relating to, the surface.
From the superficiality of the wound, and our promptness in treating it, I had no doubt it would heal quickly.
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the fact or quality of being external or outward only.
In her films evil often seems attractive, but the superficiality of this attraction is always revealed in the end.
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the fact or quality of being concerned only with what is obvious, external, or on the surface.
Superficiality and "looking good" take precedence in a culture that values appearances over genuine achievement.
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shallow quality; lack of depth or thoroughness.
Any book that attempts a survey of literature covering hundreds of years and multiple genres runs the risk of superficiality.
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the fact or quality of being insubstantial or insignificant.
The superficiality of the changes is likely the real reason critics have not compared the two versions of this play.
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the fact or quality of being merely apparent rather than real.
The scene reveals the superficiality of his concern for his wife—all he really cares about is the family’s reputation.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of superficiality
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"This incident not only exposes the superficiality of local daily supervision and the low cost of violations, leading to repeated violations by the company," another Weibo user wrote.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
Modernism’s critique of Art Deco was its superficiality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
We know that the plastic veneer of Hollywood gives parts of the city, and aspects of life here, a certain superficiality.
From Slate ● Jan. 16, 2025
But older people often mistake the platform’s sometimes playful nature for superficiality, Lobel said, adding, “We don’t just want to see politicians dancing on our TikTok.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2024
I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
In reality, the other person also typically enjoyed getting beyond superficialities.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 13, 2021
Business lobbies say they aren’t fooled by such superficialities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2021
Don’t wander too far in the weeds, but try to find some way to get him to move past the few superficialities he’ll have memorized.
From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2016
Right now, pundits are largely focused on the superficialities of nomenclature.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2014
The strong daring man, therefore, has set all manner of Formulas and logical superficialities against him; has dared appeal to the genuine fact of this England, Whether it will support him or not?
From Sartor Resartus, and On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
