SUPERIOR

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Superior mean? 

• SUPERIOR (noun)
  The noun SUPERIOR has 6 senses:

1. one of greater rank or station or quality

2. the head of a religious community

3. a combatant who is able to defeat rivals

4. the largest freshwater lake in the world; the deepest of the Great Lakes

5. a town in northwest Wisconsin on Lake Superior across from Duluth

6. a character or symbol set or printed or written above and immediately to one side of another character

  Familiarity information: SUPERIOR used as a noun is common.

• SUPERIOR (adjective)
  The adjective SUPERIOR has 7 senses:

1. of high or superior quality or performance

2. of or characteristic of high rank or importance

3. (sometimes followed by 'to') not subject to or influenced by

4. written or printed above and to one side of another character

5. having an orbit farther from the sun than the Earth's orbit

6. having a higher rank

7. (often followed by 'to') above being affected or influenced by

  Familiarity information: SUPERIOR used as an adjective is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SUPERIOR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

One of greater rank or station or quality

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

higher-up; superior; superordinate

Hypernyms ("superior" is a kind of...):

leader (a person who rules or guides or inspires others)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "superior"):

better (a superior person having claim to precedence)

god (a man of such superior qualities that he seems like a deity to other people)

supervisor (one who supervises or has charge and direction of)

Antonym:

inferior (one of lesser rank or station or quality)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The head of a religious community

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("superior" is a kind of...):

religious (a member of a religious order who is bound by vows of poverty and chastity and obedience)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "superior"):

abbess; mother superior; prioress (the superior of a group of nuns)

abbot; archimandrite (the superior of an abbey of monks)

prior (the head of a religious order; in an abbey the prior is next below the abbot)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A combatant who is able to defeat rivals

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

master; superior; victor

Hypernyms ("superior" is a kind of...):

battler; belligerent; combatant; fighter; scrapper (someone who fights (or is fighting))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "superior"):

conqueror; vanquisher (someone who is victorious by force of arms)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The largest freshwater lake in the world; the deepest of the Great Lakes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

Lake Superior; Superior

Instance hypernyms:

lake (a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land)

Holonyms ("Superior" is a part of...):

Great Lakes (a group of five large, interconnected lakes in central North America)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A town in northwest Wisconsin on Lake Superior across from Duluth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Instance hypernyms:

town (an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city)

Holonyms ("Superior" is a part of...):

Badger State; WI; Wis.; Wisc.; Wisconsin (a midwestern state in north central United States)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A character or symbol set or printed or written above and immediately to one side of another character

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

superior; superscript

Hypernyms ("superior" is a kind of...):

character; graph; grapheme; graphic symbol (a written symbol that is used to represent speech)

• SUPERIOR (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of high or superior quality or performance

Context example:

superior math students

Similar:

outstanding (distinguished from others in excellence)

well-made (skillfully constructed)

classic (considered of the highest quality and lasting significance or worth)

out of the ordinary; out of this world (exceptionally or unusually good)

premium (having or reflecting superior quality or value)

pucka; pukka (absolutely first class and genuine)

shining (marked by exceptional merit)

spiffing (excellent or splendid)

supreme (highest in excellence or achievement)

top-flight; top-hole; topping (excellent; best possible)

surpassing; transcendent (exceeding or surpassing usual limits especially in excellence)

weapons-grade (of a quality adequate for use in weapons (especially in weapons of mass destruction))

high-performance (modified to give superior performance)

greatest; sterling; superlative (highest in quality)

gilt-edged (of the highest quality or value)

excellent; fantabulous; first-class; ripping; splendid (very good; of the highest quality)

choice; prime; prize; quality; select (of superior grade)

capital (first-rate)

brilliant; superb (of surpassing excellence)

boss; brag (exceptionally good)

blue-ribbon; select (selected or chosen for special qualifications)

banner (unusually good; outstanding)

A-one; ace; crack; first-rate; super; tiptop; top-notch; topnotch; tops (of the highest quality)

Also:

best ((superlative of 'good') having the most positive qualities)

Attribute:

caliber; calibre; quality (a degree or grade of excellence or worth)

Antonym:

inferior (of low or inferior quality)

Derivation:

superiority (the quality of being superior)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Of or characteristic of high rank or importance

Context example:

a superior ruler

Similar:

upper (superior in rank or accomplishment)

superordinate (of higher rank or status or value)

majestic; olympian (majestic in manner or bearing; superior to mundane matters)

high-level; high-ranking; upper-level (at an elevated level in rank or importance)

eminent; high (standing above others in quality or position)

arch; condescending; patronising; patronizing ((used of behavior or attitude) characteristic of those who treat others with condescension)

leading; preeminent (greatest in importance or degree or significance or achievement)

Also:

high (greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount)

dominant (exercising influence or control)

Antonym:

inferior (of or characteristic of low rank or importance)

Derivation:

superiority (the quality of being at a competitive advantage)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(sometimes followed by 'to') not subject to or influenced by

Context example:

trust magnates who felt themselves superior to law

Similar:

dominant (exercising influence or control)

Derivation:

superiority (the state of excelling or surpassing or going beyond usual limits)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Written or printed above and to one side of another character

Synonyms:

superior; superscript

Domain category:

printing; printing process (reproduction by applying ink to paper as for publication)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Having an orbit farther from the sun than the Earth's orbit

Context example:

Mars and Jupiter are the closest in of the superior planets

Domain category:

astronomy; uranology (the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole)

Antonym:

inferior (having an orbit between the sun and the Earth's orbit)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Having a higher rank

Synonyms:

higher-ranking; ranking; superior

Context example:

superior officer

Similar:

senior (older; higher in rank; longer in length of tenure or service)

Derivation:

superiority (the quality of being at a competitive advantage)

Sense 7

Meaning:

(often followed by 'to') above being affected or influenced by

Context example:

an ignited firework proceeds superior to circumstances until its blazing vitality fades

Similar:

unaffected (undergoing no change when acted upon)

 Context examples 

You would say, I should have been superior to circumstances; so I should—so I should; but you see I was not.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I can imagine, that before she had seen any body superior, she might tolerate him.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Fanny Harville was a very superior creature, and his attachment to her was indeed attachment.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

In understanding, Darcy was the superior.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

The immunomodulatory effects of this agent may be superior to those of MDP.

(Disaccharide Tripeptide Glycerol Dipalmitoyl, NCI Thesaurus)

As I mentioned on a former occasion, she is a very superior woman, but has lost the use of her limbs.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“I am convinced that in the case of a secret of this importance it would rise superior to the most intimate domestic ties.”

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Edmund! True, I believe he is, generally speaking, kind to her, and so is Sir Thomas in his way; but it is the way of a rich, superior, long-worded, arbitrary uncle.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

She is a most amiable girl; such a superior understanding!

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

"Subramanian's research shows that new materials with specific superior properties can still be discovered, either serendipitously or through targeted materials design strategies."

(Chemists find path to 'new blue' in meteorite minerals, National Science Foundation)