superficial

adjective

1)

superficial burns

Syn:

surface, exterior, external, outer, outside, slight

Ant:

deep, thorough

2)

a superficial friendship

Syn:

shallow, surface, skin-deep, artificial; empty, hollow, meaningless

Ant:

deep, significant

3)

a superficial investigation

Syn:

cursory, perfunctory, casual, sketchy, desultory, token, slapdash, offhand, rushed, hasty, hurried

Ant:

comprehensive, thorough

4)

a superficial resemblance

Syn:

apparent, seeming, outward, ostensible, cosmetic, slight

Ant:

genuine, authentic

5)

a superficial analysis

Syn:

trivial, lightweight, two-dimensional

Ant:

profound

6)

a superficial person

Syn:

facile, shallow, flippant, empty-headed, trivial, frivolous, silly, inane

Ant:

deep, thoughtful

••

superficial, cursory, hasty, slapdash, shallow

No one wants to be accused of being superficial or shallow, two adjectives that literally indicate a lack of depth (a superficial wound; a shallow grave). Superficial suggests too much concern with the surface or obvious aspects of something, and it is considered a derogatory term because it connotes a personality that is not genuine or sincere. Shallow is even more derogatory because it implies not only a refusal to explore something deeply but an inability to feel, sympathize, or understand. It is unlikely that a shallow person, in other words, will ever have more than superficial relationships with his or her peers. Cursory, which may or may not be a derogatory term, suggests a lack of thoroughness or attention to detail (a cursory glance at the newspaper), while hasty emphasizes a refusal or inability to spend the necessary time on something (a hasty review of the facts). If you are slapdash in your approach, it means that you are both careless and hasty (a slapdash job of cleaning up).