superior

UK: /suːˈpɪərɪə/ US: /səˈpɪriɚ, sʊ-/ ,(sə pēr′ē ər, sŏŏ-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

su•pe•ri•or /səˈpɪriɚ, sʊ-/   adj. 

1. higher in rank, degree, class, etc.:
   a superior officer.
2. above the average in excellence, merit, etc.:
   a superior student.
3. of higher grade or quality:
   a superior brand of dog food.
4. greater in quantity or amount:
   Our armies have superior numbers.
5. showing a feeling of being better than or above others:
   He had a superior attitude toward everyone.
6. higher in place or position; located above some similar thing:
   The enemy had an advantage, fighting from superior ground.

n. [countable]

7. one who is superior to another in rank, as in a job, or who has higher ability than another:
   She's my superior at work.
8. Religion the head of a monastery, convent, or the like.

su•pe•ri•or•i•ty /səˌpɪriˈɔrɪti, -ˈɑr-, sʊ-/  n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

su•pe•ri•or  (sə pēr′ē ər, sŏŏ-), adj. 

1. higher in station, rank, degree, importance, etc.:
   a superior officer.
2. above the average in excellence, merit, intelligence, etc.:
   superior math students.
3. of higher grade or quality:
   superior merchandise.
4. greater in quantity or amount:
   superior numbers.
5. showing a consciousness or feeling of being better than or above others:
   superior airs.
6. not yielding or susceptible (usually fol. by to):
   to be superior to temptation.
7. higher in place or position:
   We moved our camp to superior ground.
8. [Bot.]
   • Botany situated above some other organ.
   • Botany (of a calyx) seeming to originate from the top of the ovary.
   • Botany (of an ovary) free from the calyx.
9. Anatomy (of an organ or part)
   • higher in place or position;
     situated above another.
   • toward the head. Cf. inferior (def. 7).
10. Printing written or printed high on a line of text, as the "2'' in a²b;
    superscript. Cf. inferior (def. 9).

n. 

11. one superior to another.
12. Printing Also called superscript. a superior letter, number, or symbol. Cf. inferior (def. 11).
13. Religion [Eccles.] the head of a monastery, convent, or the like.

• Latin, equivalent. to super(us) situated above (adjective, adjectival derivative of super; see super-) + -ior comparative suffix; see -er⁴
• Middle English (adjective, adjectival) 1350–1400

su•pe′ri•or•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 2. excellent, distinguished, unrivaled, first-rate, matchless.
• 5. haughty, arrogant, snobbish.

Su•pe•ri•or  (sə pēr′ē ər, sŏŏ-), n. 

1. Place Names Lake, a lake in the N central United States and S Canada: the northernmost of the Great Lakes;
   the largest body of fresh water in the world. 350 mi. (564 km) long;
   31,820 sq. mi. (82,415 sq. km);
   greatest depth, 1290 ft. (393 m);
   602 ft. (183 m) above sea level.
2. Place Names a port in NW Wisconsin, on Lake Superior. 29,571.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

superior / suːˈpɪərɪə/ adjective

1. greater in quality, quantity, etc
2. of high or extraordinary worth, merit, etc
3. higher in rank or status: a superior tribunal
4. displaying a conscious sense of being above or better than others; supercilious
5. (often postpositive) followed by to: not susceptible (to) or influenced (by)
6. placed higher up; situated further from the base
7. (of a planet) having an orbit further from the sun than the orbit of the earth
8. (of a plant ovary) situated above the calyx and other floral parts
9. (of a character) written or printed above the line; superscript

noun

1. a person or thing of greater rank or quality
2. a character set in a superior position
3. (often capital) the head of a community in a religious order

Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin, from superus placed above, from super above

suˈperioress noun:feminine

superiority / suːˌpɪərɪˈɒrɪtɪ/, superiorship / suːˈpɪərɪəʃɪp/ noun

USAGE
Superior should not be used with than: he is a better (not a superior) poet than his brother; his poetry is superior to (not superior than) his brother's

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Superior / suːˈpɪərɪə sjuː-/ noun

1. Lake Superior ⇒ a lake in the N central US and S Canada: one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world and westernmost of the Great Lakes. Area: 82 362 sq km (31 800 sq miles)