Meaning & use
superior person
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Meanings
nouncountabledisapproving
Someone who behaves as if they are better than other people.
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'a' and in the plural 'superior people'.
Patterns
- act like a superior person
- a superior person who ...
He acts like a superior person, but he makes the same mistakes as everyone else.
Nobody likes a superior person who talks down to the staff.
She came across as a superior person at first, though she is actually quite shy.
nouncountable
Someone of higher rank or position than you in an organization.
Grammar: Countable; usually means a specific boss or senior colleague.
Patterns
- my superior person
- a superior person in the company
In this office, a superior person must approve every large payment.
She reported the problem to a superior person rather than to her manager.
Word forms
| plural | superior people |
|---|---|
| plural | superior persons |
Common combinations
- act like a superior person
- He acts like a superior person whenever new interns arrive.
- come across as a superior person
- She comes across as a superior person until you get to know her.
- a superior person in rank
- Only a superior person in rank can sign the order.
- sound like a superior person
- You sound like a superior person when you correct every small detail.
Synonyms and how they differ
- snob
- Stronger and more informal; it suggests someone who looks down on people for social or taste reasons.
- arrogant person
- Focuses on the attitude of pride rather than on feeling above others in general.
- senior
- Neutral and used for rank only, with no suggestion of looking down on people.
Opposites
Word family
- superiority noun
- The state of being better or higher in rank than others.
- superior adjective
- Better in quality, or higher in rank.
- supercilious adjective
- A formal word meaning showing that you think you are better than others.
Commonly confused: superior person or superior?
superior person vs superior
As one word, 'superior' is usually an adjective meaning 'better'; 'a superior person' as a noun phrase means someone who thinks they are above others.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'superior person' in the disapproving sense?
Choose one answer.
'Like a superior person' describes an attitude of looking down on others, which is the disapproving sense. The other options use it for rank, which is a different, neutral sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “superior person”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.