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Definitions

superficiality

[soo-per-fish-ee-al-i-tee] / ˌsu pərˌfɪʃ iˈæl ɪ ti /
NOUN
frivolity
Synonyms
STRONGEST
levity
STRONG
flightiness flippancy flirting flummery folly frippery frivolousness fun gaiety game giddiness jest lightheartedness lightness nonsense play puerility shallowness sport toying trifling triviality volatility whimsicality whimsy
WEAK
coquetting dallying fribble
Antonyms
STRONG
sadness seriousness understanding work
WEAK
sensibility wiseness
NOUN
mush
Synonyms
STRONG
affectation gush mawkishness romanticism schmaltz sentimentalism
WEAK
maudlinism tear-jerker
NOUN
surface
Synonyms
STRONGEST
area expanse exterior facade face façade level side skin top
STRONG
cover covering externality facet obverse outside peel periphery plane rind stretch superficies veneer
WEAK
exteriority
Antonyms
STRONGEST
character core interior middle personality
STRONG
center
WEAK
inside

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.

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

The film is magnifying the superficiality of our culture.

From Salon • Sep. 20, 2024

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

Thus we live a closed, hard existence of the utmost superficiality, and rarely does an incident strike out a spark.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.