superficiality
Americannoun
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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.
-
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.
-
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:
Modernism’s critique of Art Deco was its superficiality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
So we are left with a question: is Walters all superficiality, a media-obsessive without the stamina or standing for real, transformative politics?
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
Still, Clark backs her, particularly as she challenges the superficiality of those only supporting star authenticity when it is positive.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2024
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
It’s all too easy for out-of-state TV anchors and reporters to focus on celebritude and superficialities when dealing with California politics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2021
Perhaps most important, though, is a lack of substance beyond the superficialities listed above.
From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2016
Right now, pundits are largely focused on the superficialities of nomenclature.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2014
For all the dissimilarities in eras — we were greeted with yellow ribbons and parades, superficialities meant to atone for mistakes — the homecoming experience for American soldiers and Marines remains a messy, complicated affair.
From Washington Post
Against all such superficialities of exegesis alike our safeguard must be a broad common-sense induction.
From Montaigne and Shakspere by Robertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon)
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.
