superficially
adverb
superficially is spelled S-U-P-E-R-F-I-C-I-A-L-L-Y: 13 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, superficially means “In a superficial manner; shallowly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in superficially?
| Letters | 13: S-U-P-E-R-F-I-C-I-A-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is superficially?
Superficially appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce superficially?
Superficially has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of superficially
- more superficially comparative
- most superficially superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does superficially mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a superficial manner; shallowly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Superficially in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in a superficial manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | superficiellement |
| German | oberflächlich |
| Portuguese | superficialmente |
| Spanish | superficialmente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does superficially come from?
From superficial + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).