superior meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

superior

adj

UK /suːˈpɪə.ɹi.ə/ · US /sʊˈpɪɹ.i.ɚ/

Etymology From Middle English, borrowed from Old French superiour, from Latin superior (“higher, upper”).

16 senses

1Higher in rank, status, or quality.
2Of high standard or quality.
3Greater in size or power.
4Beyond the power or influence of; too great or firm to…
5Greater or better than average.
6Courageously or serenely indifferent (as to something…
7Printed in superscript.
8Located above or out; higher in position.
9Located above or higher, a direction that in humans…
10(of a calyx) Above the ovary; said of parts of the…
11(of an ovary) Above and free from the other floral organs.
12Belonging to the part of an axillary flower which is…
13(of the radicle) Pointing toward the apex of the fruit.
14More comprehensive.
15Affecting or assuming an air of superiority.
16Having a wider orbit around the Sun; typically with…

Higher in rank, status, or quality.

Rebecca had always thought shorts were far superior to pants, as they didn't constantly make her legs itch.
There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs,[…], and all these articles[…] made a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

1 more example

Additionally, reliability proved to be superior to NBL's design, with an average of 120,000 miles run during 1959.2022 January 12, David Clough, “From Germany with love: a Warship perspective”, in RAIL, number 948, page 46:

Of high standard or quality.

She always treated (her husband) as a boy, which he was, and as a fool, which he was not, thinking herself so immeasurably superior to him that she neglected opportunity after opportunity of establishing her rule.1905, E. M. Forster, Where Angels Fear to Tread, chapter 3

Greater in size or power.

Beyond the power or influence of; too great or firm to be subdued or affected by.

There is not in earth a spectacle more worthy […]than a brave man superior to his sufferings.1711 December 11 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “FRIDAY, December 1, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 237; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:

Greater or better than average.

Courageously or serenely indifferent (as to something painful or disheartening).

Media, Publishing, Typography Printed in superscript.

a superior figure or letter

Located above or out; higher in position.

the superior jaw; the superior part of an image

Anatomy, Medicine, Sciences Located above or higher, a direction that in humans corresponds to cephalad.

Biology, Botany, Natural sciences (of a calyx) Above the ovary; said of parts of the flower which, although normally below the ovary, adhere to it, and so appear to originate from its upper part.

Biology, Botany, Natural sciences (of an ovary) Above and free from the other floral organs.

Biology, Botany, Natural sciences Belonging to the part of an axillary flower which is toward the main stem.

Biology, Botany, Natural sciences (of the radicle) Pointing toward the apex of the fruit.

Biology, Natural sciences, Taxonomy More comprehensive.

A genus is superior to a species.

Affecting or assuming an air of superiority.

Astronomy, Natural sciences Having a wider orbit around the Sun; typically with respect to the Earth.

Of a planet in the Solar System

Synonyms: crowning, ferior, foremost, greater, higher, major, paramount, preeminent, superior, supreme, utmost, vaulting
Antonyms: inferior, equivalent
Derived terms: 64 terms
anterior superior alveolar artery, anterior superior iliac spine, anterosuperior, father superior, fultura superior, general superior, highly superior autobiographical memory, inferosuperior, Lake Superior, laterosuperior, limit superior, mediosuperior, mother superior, Mother Superior, nonsuperior, Peover Superior, posterior superior alveolar artery, posterosuperior, Superia, superior alveolar nerve, superior auricular muscle, superior autobiographical memory, superior carotid triangle, superior cerebellar artery, superior cervical ganglion, superior colliculus, superior court, superioress, superior general, superior good, superior highly composite number, superior hypophyseal artery, superiority, superiorization, superior landlord, superior laryngeal artery, superior laryngeal nerve, superior lease, superior letter, superiorly, superior mesenteric artery, superior mesenteric artery syndrome, superior mesenteric vein, superiormost, superior nasal concha, superiorness, superior oblique, superior oblique muscle, superior olivary complex, superior orbital fissure, superior petrosal sinus, superior pharyngeal constrictor, superior planet, superior rectus, superior sagittal sinus, superiorship, superior tarsal, superior tarsal muscle, superior tenant, superior thyroid artery, superior vena cava, supero-, temporosuperior, unsuperior
Related terms: auricularis superior, Homo superior, levator labii superioris, levator labii superioris alaeque nasi, levator palpebrae superioris, respondeat superior, Superior
Hypernyms: unequal
Coordinate terms: noninferior

superior

noun

Etymology From Middle English, borrowed from Old French superiour, from Latin superior (“higher, upper”).

› A person of higher rank or quality…

The senior person in a monastic community.

The head of certain religious institutions and colleges.

Media, Printing, Publishing A superior letter, figure, or symbol.

Historical One who has made an original grant of heritable property to a tenant or vassal, on condition of a certain annual payment (feu duty) or of the performance of certain services.