superiority
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of superiority
First recorded in 1520–30, superiority is from the Medieval Latin word superiōritāt- (stem of superiōritās ). See superior, -ity
Explanation
Superiority is the quality of being better than or superior to someone else. Your superiority in the sack race won you a first-place ribbon. Superiority refers to the best. It’s better than, above, greater than everything else, whether there’s something to compare it to — the superiority of one ice cream flavor over another — or whether it just describes a general state of high quality — the superiority of the University library. Of course, sometimes superiority is all in your head; in that case, some people might say you have a superiority complex, which means that you think you’re better than everyone else!
Vocabulary lists containing superiority
Power Prefix: super-
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Trumps
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Marita's Bargain," Vocabulary from the essay
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
For this goal, we also saw the other key area of superiority from Spain, which was around the French full-backs.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Drone warfare has also upended basic notions such as air superiority.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Big Tech along with AI start-ups Anthropic and OpenAI are currently fighting for the top AI talent in the marketplace as they all vie for superiority in the space.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
It doesn’t appeal to the American instinct for moral as well as material superiority.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
It seemed to give him a certain superiority.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
"Obviously none of the other materials . . . would produce a comb possessing the many excellent qualities and inherent superiorities of a comb made of celluloid," Hyatt wrote in one of his patent applications.
From Scientific American ● May 29, 2011
All of the expected prestige names turn up at the top, but the study is nonetheless full of fascinating comparisons and subtle superiorities.
From Time Magazine Archive
Adding up what is known of most of these factors, the margins, evident superiorities, palpable weaknesses of the three belligerent air forces stack up somewhat as follows.
From Time Magazine Archive
They have the two enormous superiorities: first, that the Irish Protestant rioters really believe in Protestant theology; and second, that the Irish Protestant rioters do really riot.
From George Bernard Shaw by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)
Let us now consider another of the admitted superiorities of clever women, greater quickness of apprehension.
From The Subjection of Women by Mill, John Stuart
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
