DictionaryAI

superb

adjective
suu-PURB/suˈpɝb/UKsyoo-PURB/sjuːˈpɜːb/

Formssuperber, superbest

3 meanings of superb

Practice

  1. 1
    adjective
    Of the highest quality; first-rate and exceptionally good.

    The orchestra gave a superb performance of the symphony.

    Critics praised the novel for its superb characterization.

    Similarexcellent, outstanding, magnificent, superlative, brilliant

    Oppositepoor, mediocre, dreadful, inferior

  2. 2
    adjective
    Grand and magnificent; stately and impressive in scale or appearance.

    The cathedral's superb dome dominated the entire skyline.

    They built a superb mansion of pale stone overlooking the river.

    Similarmagnificent, splendid, grand, majestic, stately

    Oppositemodest, humble, plain

  3. 3
    adjectivedated
    Haughty; proud and disdainful in bearing toward those regarded as inferior.
    A remark which Isabella received with a superb curl of the lip, but at the same time, and to her brother's infinite relief, she walked away.
    1858, Julia Kavanagh, Adèle

    Similarhaughty, proud, disdainful, arrogant

    Oppositehumble, modest

    Note

    Pride on display rather than excellence: in Julia Kavanagh's Adèle (1858), Isabella answers a remark "with a superb curl of the lip," a look of scorn, not of beauty. The usage is now dated. A modern reader will tend to hear the "first-rate" meaning instead, so in current writing haughty or disdainful says it without ambiguity. Keep this sense for period dialogue or deliberately old-fashioned prose.

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Origin

A learned borrowing from Latin "superbus".