📖 S — The English dictionary · page 117

super — Everyday, meaning 1: Super means very good or excellent (informal).↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Super means very or extremely: «super fast».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: The prefix super- means above, more than or bigger than, as in superhero, supermarket, superstar.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: Super is short for superintendent, or in Australia and New Zealand for superannuation (savings for when you are old).↗ Example: That's a super drawing!↗ · The test was super easy.↗ · Superman is a famous superhero.↗ · We had a super time at the beach.↗ · The new car is super fast.↗ · We buy our food at the supermarket.↗ · A supermoon looks bigger and brighter.↗ · D. (filii Dior) super 32 Semitis Sapientiae, a quibus liber Yezirah incipit.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877)↗ · "Id est Liber Jezirah, qui Abrahamos, Patriarchæ adscribitur, unacum Commentario Rabi Abraham F.D. super 32 semitis Sapientiæ, a quibus Liber Jezirah incipit: Translatus et notis illustratus a Joanne Stephano Rittangelio Ling.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗

superb — Everyday, meaning 1: Extremely good; excellent.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Very grand and beautiful to look at.↗ Example: What a superb drawing of the dragon!↗ · The goalkeeper made a superb save in the last minute.↗ · From the top of the hill there was a superb view of the lake.↗ · Your spelling test was superb — full marks.↗ · The castle stands in superb grounds with gardens and a maze.↗ · She sang superbly at the school concert.↗ · The old bike is still in superb condition.↗ · For seven days the whole nation mourned, and then the ashes of the princess were buried with great pomp, and a superb tomb was raised over her.↗

supercilious — Everyday, meaning 1: Supercilious means proud and looking down on others, as if they were not worth noticing.↗ Example: The tall Rocket looked supercilious.↗ · Don't be so supercilious with your friends.↗

superficial — Everyday, meaning 1: A superficial wound or damage is only on the surface and not deep or serious: a superficial cut.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Superficial means only looking at the outside or the obvious parts, not thinking deeply: a superficial reading of the text.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A superficial person cares mostly about looks and unimportant things, not deep feelings or ideas.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: A superficial likeness is one that seems the same at first but is different underneath.↗ Example: It was only a superficial cut.↗ · The car had superficial damage to its paint.↗ · Your answer is a bit superficial; explain your reasons.↗ · Don't be superficial and judge people by their trainers.↗ · Dolphins and sharks have a superficial likeness.↗ · The storm caused only superficial damage.↗ · He had a superficial knowledge of football.↗

superficially — Everyday, meaning 1: Superficially means only on the surface or at first look, not deeply: «They look superficially alike».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Superficially can mean done quickly and carelessly, without real thought or care.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (medical) Superficially injured means hurt only on the skin, not deep inside.↗ Example: Bats and birds are superficially alike, but bats are mammals.↗ · He read the chapter only superficially and missed the main point.↗ · The driver was superficially injured, with just a few scratches.↗ · The twins look superficially the same but act very differently.↗ · The problem was fixed superficially, so it came back.↗ · Superficially, the plan looked good.↗

superfluous — Everyday, meaning 1: Superfluous means more than is needed, extra and not necessary.↗ e.g. "Cut the superfluous words from your sentence."↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (formal) Superfluous can mean not wanted or useful, so a person may feel superfluous when they are not needed.↗ Example: Delete any superfluous words from your story.↗ · The extra decorations were superfluous.↗ · The problem had superfluous information about the colour of the bus.↗ · Packing three umbrellas seems superfluous.↗ · With two helpers already, I felt superfluous.↗ · His long speech had a lot of superfluous detail.↗ · Shoes inside a swimming pool are superfluous.↗ · [457] A few lines are here omitted as being superfluous.↗

superfood — Everyday, meaning 1: A superfood is a food that people say is extra healthy because it has lots of vitamins, minerals or other good things in it, like blueberries, kale or salmon.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: It is mostly a word used in adverts and magazines, not a scientific term.↗ Example: Mum says blueberries are a superfood.↗ · The café sells a green superfood smoothie.↗ · Our teacher said there's no magic superfood; you need a mix of foods.↗ · Kale was called a superfood in the magazine.↗ · The advert claimed the seeds were a superfood that would make you clever.↗ · Salmon is often called a superfood because of its healthy oils.↗ · We made posters about real healthy eating, not just superfoods.↗

supergiant — Everyday, meaning 1: (science) A supergiant is one of the biggest and brightest kinds of star, many times larger and heavier than our Sun.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (adjective, informal) Supergiant can mean enormous: a supergiant shark in a film.↗ Example: Betelgeuse is a red supergiant in the constellation Orion.↗ · A supergiant can be hundreds of times wider than the Sun.↗ · When a supergiant dies, it can explode as a supernova.↗ · Rigel is a blue supergiant, very hot and bright.↗ · Our Sun will never become a supergiant; it is too small.↗ · If a red supergiant replaced the Sun, it would swallow the inner planets.↗ · Supergiants live much shorter lives than small stars.↗

superhero — Everyday, meaning 1: A superhero is a character in comics, films or stories who has special powers, like flying or great strength, and uses them to fight evil and help people.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Informally, a superhero is a real person who does something very brave or helpful.↗ Example: My favourite superhero can fly and turn invisible.↗ · He dressed up as a superhero for the school parade.↗ · Design your own superhero and draw their costume.↗ · Every superhero has a weakness.↗ · Firefighters are real-life superheroes.↗ · The superhero saved the city from the flood.↗ · Many superheroes hide their real names.↗

superhuman — Everyday, meaning 1: Superhuman means greater than an ordinary person can manage: superhuman strength or effort.↗ Example: The hero lifted the rock with superhuman strength.↗ · It took a superhuman effort to finish the race.↗

superintend — Everyday, meaning 1: To superintend is to watch over and manage a job or people, making sure it is done properly.↗ Example: The mother superintended the household.↗ · Mr Brown superintended the building work.↗

superior — Everyday, meaning 1: Better in quality or more skilled than others: superior goods.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Higher in rank or position: a superior officer.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Behaving as if you are better than others: a superior smile.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: Noun: a person of higher rank, like a boss.↗ Everyday, meaning 5: (science, anatomy) Higher up or above, as in the superior vena cava.↗ Everyday, meaning 6: Mother Superior: the head of a convent.↗ Example: This glue is superior to the cheap one.↗ · The soldier saluted his superior officer.↗ · She gave a superior smile and walked off.↗ · Our team had superior skill and won easily.↗ · Report problems to your superior.↗ · Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes.↗ · The instrument had a superior tone and delighted all who heard it.↗ · The vowel letters, however, the letters of the Tetra- grammaton, are images and pictures of superior angels.↗ (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗

superiority — Everyday, meaning 1: Superiority is being better, stronger or higher in quality than others.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Superiority is also acting as if you are better than other people, which is unkind and annoying.↗ Example: Their team's superiority was clear by half-time.↗ · She spoke with an air of superiority that upset her friends.↗ · The army had superiority in numbers.↗ · No group of people has superiority over another because of skin colour.↗ · The new phone's superiority is its long battery life.↗ · His sense of superiority made him hard to like.↗ · They soon began to boast of their respective superiority to each other in strength and prowess.↗ · The purpose of the author was to e ..pliiisizc the superiority of alphabetic writing over the non-alphabetic writing (ideographic and syllabic) used by all the nations of antiquity, and even now by a great portion of mankind.↗ (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗

superlative — Everyday, meaning 1: (grammar) A superlative is the form of an adjective or adverb that shows the most or least: biggest, fastest, most beautiful, best, worst.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (formal) Superlative means extremely good, of the highest quality: a superlative performance.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (noun) Superlatives can also be words of very high praise.↗ e.g. "The review was full of superlatives."↗ Example: "Tallest" is the superlative of "tall".↗ · The superlative of "good" is "best".↗ · Use "the" before a superlative: the fastest runner.↗ · The chef cooked a superlative meal.↗ · The critics ran out of superlatives to describe the show.↗ · Find the superlative: "Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth."↗ · "Most exciting" is a superlative made with "most".↗ · These ten Sephiroth which are, moreover, ineffable, have their end even as their beginning, conjoined, even as is a flame to a burning coal: for our God is superlative in his unity, and does not permit any second one.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887)↗

supermarket — Everyday, meaning 1: A supermarket is a big shop where you can buy food, drinks and many other things for the home, taking them from shelves and paying at a checkout.↗ Example: Mom bought 6 eggs at the supermarket.↗ · The supermarket sells apples for 50 cents each.↗ · The supermarket has 12 rows of shelves.↗ · He spent 25 dollars at the supermarket.↗ · Pass me a trolley, please.↗ · The milk is in the last aisle of the supermarket.↗ · Pay at the checkout.↗ · The supermarket has a special offer: three for two.↗

supernal — In Jewish tradition, meaning 1: Belonging to a higher, heavenly world; very high and divine.↗ Example: In IHV note that Yod corresponds to the Father ; Heh to Binah, the Supernal Mother ; and Vau to the Microprosopus — Son .↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗

supernatural — Everyday, meaning 1: Seeming to come from beyond the natural world, not explained by science, like ghosts, magic or spirits.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (the supernatural) All things of this kind: ghosts, spells, monsters and spirits.↗ Example: The story is about a house with supernatural visitors.↗ · The hero had supernatural powers and could fly.↗ · Scientists look for natural causes, not supernatural ones.↗ · Do you believe in the supernatural?↗ · The old legend tells of a supernatural creature in the lake.↗ · The noise wasn't supernatural — it was just the wind in the pipes.↗ · Halloween stories are full of supernatural beings.↗ · Their supernatural foe is a small gnome with a very long beard.↗ · It tends to be used of things that are marvelous, miraculous, or otherwise supernatural and extraordinary, i.e. that which defies the human ability to do or understand and must therefore be divine, e.g. [Deuteronomy 28:59], [Psalm 118:23], [Psalm 139:6].↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation)↗

supernova — Everyday, meaning 1: A supernova is a gigantic explosion of a star at the end of its life, which can shine brighter than a whole galaxy for a short time.↗ Example: A supernova is the explosion of a huge star.↗ · The Crab Nebula is left over from a supernova.↗ · Supernovae make heavy elements like gold.↗ · For a few weeks the supernova outshone its galaxy.↗ · Our Sun is too small to become a supernova.↗ · Astronomers spotted a new supernova in a distant galaxy.↗

superpower — Everyday, meaning 1: A very powerful country with great military and economic strength that has a big influence over the world.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: An amazing power beyond normal humans, like flying or being invisible, that a superhero has.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (informal) A special talent or something you are very good at.↗ Example: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?↗ · Superman's superpowers include flying and super strength.↗ · After a great war, two countries became superpowers.↗ · (informal) My mum's superpower is finding lost socks.↗ · A superpower has a lot of influence in the world.↗ · In the story, the girl discovered she had a superpower.↗ · (informal) Kindness is your superpower.↗

supersede — Everyday, meaning 1: (formal) To supersede something is to take its place because it is newer or better, so the old thing is no longer used.↗ Example: Cars superseded horse-drawn carts.↗ · The new timetable supersedes the old one.↗ · Smartphones have superseded many cameras.↗ · Electric lights superseded gas lamps.↗ · Einstein's ideas did not throw out Newton's laws, but in some cases they superseded them.↗ · The new rules supersede everything in last year's handbook.↗ · Streaming has superseded DVDs for many families.↗

superstar — Everyday, meaning 1: A superstar is an extremely famous and successful singer, actor, sports player or other performer.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (informal) A superstar is someone who is brilliant at something or who has done a great job: «You're a superstar for helping!».↗ Example: The singer became a superstar after her first album.↗ · He is a football superstar who plays for England.↗ · Thanks for tidying up — you're a superstar!↗ · Many superstars started as ordinary kids.↗ · The superstar signed autographs for her fans.↗ · In our class, everyone is a superstar at something.↗

superstition — Everyday, meaning 1: A superstition is a belief that some action or object brings good or bad luck, even though there is no real reason or proof for it.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Superstition is believing in such things.↗ Example: It's a superstition that black cats bring bad luck.↗ · Some people think breaking a mirror gives seven years of bad luck — that's a superstition.↗ · My grandma has lots of old superstitions.↗ · Footballers often have superstitions, like wearing lucky socks.↗ · Science tests ideas; superstition doesn't.↗ · Is it true or just a superstition?↗ · Many hotels have no room 13 because of superstition.↗ · Superstition made her alternately shudder with cold or burn with the heat of fever.↗