# superficial

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˌsuː.pəˈfɪʃ.əl/ · frequency rank #13,819

## Definitions
1. Existing, occurring, or located on the surface.
2. Existing, occurring, or located on the surface.
3. Appearing to be true or real only until examined more closely.
4. Not thorough, deep, or complete; concerned only with the obvious or apparent.
5. Not thorough, deep, or complete; concerned only with the obvious or apparent.
6. Two-dimensional; drawn on a flat surface.
7. Denoting a quantity of a material expressed in terms of area covered rather than linear dimension or volume.

## Etymology
Borrowing from Late Latin superficiālis (“of or belonging to the surface”), from superficiēs (“top, surface”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).

## Easily confused with
- **superficially** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/superficial-vs-superficially)

## Common misspellings (16)
`spuerficial`, `ssuperficial`, `sueprficial`, `supefricial`, `superfciial`, `superfficial`, `superficail`, `superficcial`, `superficiall`, `superficila`, `superfiical`, `superifcial`, `superrficial`, `supperficial`, `supreficial`, `usperficial`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/superficial