superficial

Etymology

Borrowing from Late Latin superficiālis (“of or belonging to the surface”), from superficiēs (“top, surface”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).

adj

1. (relational) Existing, occurring, or located on the surface.
   1. (anatomy, relational, often with to) Closer to the surface of the body; especially, situated or occurring on the skin or immediately beneath it.
      superficial muscles
      The epidermis is superficial to the subcutis.
2. Appearing to be true or real only until examined more closely.
3. Not thorough, deep, or complete; concerned only with the obvious or apparent.
   1. Lacking depth of character or understanding; lacking substance or significance.
      These infamous little green men appeared during the decisive seizures or buildings and facilities, only to disappear when associated militias and local troops arrived to consolidate the gains. In this way they provided a measure of deniability—however superficial or implausible—for Moscow.⁴⁰ 2014, "Little Green Men": A Primer on Modern Russian Unconventional Warfare, Ukraine 2013–2014, Fort Bragg, North Carolina: The United States Army Special Operations Command, page 43
4. (rare) Two-dimensional; drawn on a flat surface.
5. (Britain, architecture) Denoting a quantity of a material expressed in terms of area covered rather than linear dimension or volume.
   one superficial foot

noun

1. (usually in the plural) A surface detail.
   He always concentrates on the superficials and fails to see the real issue.