superiority

American  

[suh-peer-ee-awr-i-tee, -or-, soo-] / səˌpɪər iˈɔr ɪ ti, -ˈɒr-, sʊ- /

noun

• superiorities
  plural

1. the quality or condition of being superior.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• superiorities
  plural

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!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

superiority superiorities

All of them have top-flight or international experience, as well as physicality to their game, but even those additions did little to prevent Arsenal from asserting their superiority on Friday night.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

But El-Sayed ably weaponized these resources against Stevens, making her financial superiority the core of his argument against her.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026

Even a country without a conventional air force can now achieve localized air superiority thanks to drones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

Fiji demonstrated their attacking superiority, which included an outrageous between-the-legs pass from full-back Salesi Rayasi, but wing Selestino Ravutaumada failed to ground the ball under pressure from Blair Murray.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

Given the claims emanating from Berkeley about the superiority of the cyclotron for all varieties of nuclear research, the oversight demanded a deeper explanation than simply a miswired switch.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

"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

We have stood too long on a pedestal talking of our moral superiority, our political superiority, and all our other superiorities, which I have long been sick of hearing recounted.

From The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Volume II by Sir Frederic G. (Frederic George) Kenyon

Such superiorities, in fact, hardly exist across the Atlantic.

From A Modern Symposium by G. Lowes (Goldsworthy Lowes) Dickinson

Related Words

• dominance
• excellence
• perfection
• preeminence
• prestige
• supremacy
• upper hand