superiority
Americannoun
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-
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Trumps
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"Marita's Bargain," Vocabulary from the essay
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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.
The mission was the second of the Artemis program, which aims to put humans back on the moon for the first time since the 1970s and prove the U.S.’s space superiority over rivals, namely China.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026
Low-cost autonomous battle systems, missiles, and interceptor missiles have dominated those conflicts, with combatants looking to add more autonomous systems and counter-drone systems to achieve technical superiority.
From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026
He has basked in his country's military superiority, saying the current conflict has already changed the Middle East, and that Israel is now a regional power and, in some respects, a global one.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
One major question for the U.S. is whether it could establish air superiority in a potential conflict with China.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
He was still in numerical superiority, but his nerve was now gone for good.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
