# superior

Pronunciation: US say "suu-PEER-ee-ur" /sʊˈpɪɹ.i.ɚ/; UK say "soo-PEER-ee-uh" /suːˈpɪə.ɹi.ə/

## Adjective

1. Higher in rank, status, or quality than someone or something else.
   - Simple: Higher than someone or something else in rank, position, or quality.
   - _In most companies, a director is superior to a manager._
   - _The handmade version is clearly superior to the factory model._
3. Greater in size or power than someone or something else.
   - Simple: Bigger or stronger than another person, group, or thing.
   - _The defenders retreated before the enemy's superior forces._
   - _The truck's superior engine power lets it haul twice the load._
4. Showing or assuming an attitude of being better than other people.
   - Simple: Acting as if you are better than other people.
   - _She listened with a superior expression, as if the discussion were beneath her._
   - _His superior tone at meetings annoyed the whole team._
6. Situated higher up or above something else; in anatomy, nearer the head or the upper part of the body.
   - Simple: Higher up or above something else. In the body, closer to the head.
   - _On the X-ray, the doctor pointed to a small crack along the superior edge of the shoulder blade._
   - _The nose is superior to the mouth, while the chin is inferior to it._
8. Not overcome, swayed, or troubled by something such as pain, fear, or temptation; rising above its influence.
   - Simple: Not upset or controlled by something bad, as if you are above it.
   - _He remained superior to the panic spreading through the office._
   - _A good leader stays calm and superior to the fear spreading around her._
9. Of a planet, having an orbit around the Sun larger than that of Earth.
   - Simple: Of a planet, going around the Sun on a wider path than Earth does.
   - _Astronomers classify Mars as a superior planet, lying outside Earth's orbit._
   - _The superior planets show retrograde motion when Earth overtakes them._
10. More comprehensive; of a category, including more than a lower one does.
   - Simple: Covering more, and including a larger group than another rank does.
   - _Each superior taxon contains all the groups ranked beneath it._
   - _Class is a superior category to order within the hierarchy._
11. Of an ovary, situated above the other floral organs and not joined to them.
   - Simple: Of a flower's ovary, sitting above and separate from the other flower parts.
   - _In hypogynous flowers the ovary is superior, set above the petals and stamens._
   - _The lily's superior ovary sits clear above the other floral parts._
7. Greater or better than what is average or typical.
   - Simple: Better or greater than what is average or usual.
   - _His superior memory lets him recall names from decades ago._
   - _This wool is of superior quality, so the sweater should last for many years._

## Noun

2. A person of higher rank or quality than someone else, especially a colleague who holds a more senior position.
   - Simple: A person who has a higher position than you or is better than you, especially someone above you at work.
   - _He reported the safety problem to his superiors, who ignored it for months._
   - _As a chess player he had no superior in the city, though he never turned professional._
5. The person who heads certain religious institutions and colleges.
   - Simple: The leader of certain religious schools, colleges, and similar groups.
   - _As superior of the seminary, Father Ruiz oversaw both studies and daily life._
   - _The order's superior approved plans for a new mission school._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A letter, figure, or symbol set in superscript above the line of type.
- (adjective) Set in superscript, raised above and smaller than the surrounding line of type.
- (adjective) Of a calyx, positioned above the ovary; describing flower parts that normally sit below the ovary but adhere to it and seem to arise from its upper part.
- (adjective) In an axillary flower, situated on the side nearer the main stem.
- (adjective) Of the radicle, directed toward the fruit's apex.
- (noun) A person who granted heritable property to a tenant or vassal in exchange for an annual payment (feu duty) or certain services.

## Origin

Latin superior meant "higher" or "upper." Old French made it superiour, and Middle English borrowed it from there.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/superior (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).