Definition of superior

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Superior, Lake >

su·pe·ri·or    (s-pîr-r) KEY 

ADJECTIVE:

1. Higher than another in rank, station, or authority: a superior officer.
2. Of a higher nature or kind.
3. Of great value or excellence; extraordinary.
4. Greater in number or amount than another: an army defeated by superior numbers of enemy troops.
5. Affecting an attitude of disdain or conceit; haughty and supercilious.
6. Above being affected or influenced; indifferent or immune: "Trust magnates were superior to law" (Gustavus Myers).
7. Located higher than another; upper.
8. Botany Inserted or situated above the perianth. Used of an ovary.
9. Printing Set above the main line of type.
10. Logic Of wider or more comprehensive application; generic. Used of a term or proposition.

NOUN:

1. One that surpasses another in rank or quality.
2. Ecclesiastical The head of a religious community, such as a monastery, abbey, or convent.
3. Printing A superior character, as the number 2 in x².

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Old French, from Latin, comparative of superus, upper, from super, over; see uper in Indo-European roots

OTHER FORMS:
su·peri·ori·ty  (-ôr-t, -r-) KEY (Noun), su·peri·or·ly(Adverb)