superior

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Higher in rank, status.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

soopihreeer

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US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

suˈpɪɹiɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

Higher in rank, status, or quality.
Greater or better than average.
Greater in size or power.
Having an orbit farther from the sun than the Earth's orbit
“Mars and Jupiter are the closest in of the superior planets.”
Located above or out; higher in position.
Courageously or serenely indifferent (as to something painful or disheartening).

noun

One of greater rank or station or quality
A person of higher rank or quality, especially a colleague in a higher position.
The head of a religious community
The head of certain religious institutions and colleges.
The senior person in a monastic community.
A minor city in Dickinson County, Iowa.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Greater or better than average.

Used this way, superior is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Moderate
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: No strong connotation
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

pukka , more casual, better suited to speech than writing

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use superior

“Superior wisdom derived from experience.”adjective

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Located

superior officer

Beyond

superior forcesuperior power

Other combinations

superior courtfar superiorsuperior qualitysuperior numberssuperior knowledge

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

good
Of high rank or birth.
high
Elevated in status, esteem, or prestige, or in importance or development.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

superior courtnounCompound term
Any court that has jurisdiction above an inferior court.
superior epigastric veinsnounCompound term
Veins that accompany the superior epigastric artery.
superior generalnounCompound term
The head of a religious order or congregation.
superior labial arterynounCompound term
An artery that is a branch of the facial artery that supplies the upper lip.
superior labial veinnounCompound term
A tributary of the facial vein that drains the upper lip.
superior mesenteric arterynounCompound term
Originates from the upper part of the aorta that supplies the small intestines and the cecum and the colon.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

superioritynounRelated term
The quality of being superior.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: higher in rank or status or or quality

pukkaInformalfineexcellentpremiumcrack

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.