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Outer vs Superficial - What's the difference?

outer | superficial | Related terms |

Outer is a related term of superficial.


As adjectives the difference between outer and superficial

is that outer is outside; external while superficial is shallow, lacking substance.

As nouns the difference between outer and superficial

is that outer is an outer part or outer can be someone who admits to something publicly while superficial is (chiefly in plural) a surface detail.

outer

English

Etymology 1

Comparative of out by analogy with inner.

Adjective

  • Outside; external.
  • Farther from the centre of the inside.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
    • , chapter=14 citation , passage=Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall. Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime. Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the house.}}
    Antonyms
    * inner

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An outer part.
  • *
  • The part of a target which is beyond the circles surrounding the bullseye.
  • A shot which strikes the outer of a target.
  • (wholesale trade) the smallest single unit normally sold to retailers, usually equal to one retail display box.
    • We ordered two cartons with twelve outers in each.

    Derived terms

    * outer space * outerness

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Someone who admits to something publicly.
  • Someone who outs another.
  • One who puts out, ousts, or expels.
  • An ouster; dispossession.

    • Anagrams

    * ----

    superficial

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Shallow, lacking substance.
  • At face value.
  • *
    • Secondly, I continue to base my concepts on intensive study of a limited suite of collections, rather than superficial study of every packet that comes to hand.
  • Of or pertaining to the surface.
  • Being near the surface.
  • (rare) Two-dimensional; drawn on a flat surface.

    • Synonyms

    * (of or pertaining to the surface) surficial

    Antonyms

    * in-depth * thorough * (lacking substance) substantive

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (chiefly in plural) A surface detail.
    • He always concentrates on the superficials and fails to see the real issue.

    Related terms

    * superfice (archaic) ----