superior
4
9.0
- adjective
- /suːˈpɪr.i.ər/
- Specialized
:
superior
- Jupiter reaches its superior alignment with the Sun and Earth every 13 months.
- superior conjunction
Examples
-
In the anatomical sciences, standard views of the human body are employed: anterior, posterior, superior, inferior, lateral, and medial.
Academic text (1990) -
Mercury is in superior conjunction, 9 P.M. PDT.
Academic text (2007) -
The afferent input travels via the superior laryngeal nerve.
Academic text (2004) -
The trigeminal nerve lies rostral and superior to the exiting VIIth and VIIIth nerves.
Academic text (1996) -
Axial CT scan at the level of the orbit shows a 1-cm soft-tissue thickening on the superior aspect of the right eyelid.
Academic text (2008) -
When Mars is at its superior position, it appears on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth.
-
During its superior conjunction, Saturn is hidden behind the Sun from our perspective.
Antonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
1
7.0
A large blood vessel from the aorta that sends blood to the small intestine and part of the colon
1
2.7
The largest freshwater lake in the world on the border of the United States and Canada
- Specialized
1
4.5
A large vein that carries blood with little oxygen from the upper body to the right side of the heart
- Specialized
1
8.9
An upper fold of tissue in the throat that does not make sound
- Specialized
An artery that gives blood to the upper teeth and nearby gums
- Specialized
A vein that drains blood from the upper front of the belly and runs beside its artery
- Specialized
A vein in the top of a lung that carries oxygen-rich blood to the left upper part of the heart
- Specialized
A long vein in the deep part of the brain that drains blood
- Specialized
A vein that carries blood from the inner corner of the eye into a deep vein behind the eye
- Specialized
A planet that orbits the Sun outside Earth's orbit, like Mars or Jupiter
- Specialized
A neck vein that carries blood from the top of the thyroid gland into a large neck vein
- Specialized
A blood vessel that carries blood to the upper part of the cerebellum and nearby midbrain
- Specialized
A part of the brain that helps process what you see and control quick eye movements
- Specialized
When a planet is on the far side of the Sun from Earth so we cannot see it
- Specialized
A brain vein that drains blood from the top half of the brain
- Specialized
A vein that carries blood from the upper part of each lung to the left upper chamber of the heart
Surface Forms
Morphology
superior = super (semi-transparent) = super + ior
The form is clearly built from 'super' + comparative '-ior', but the specific technical astronomical meaning ('orbit farther from the Sun than Earth') is a specialized reading that may not be obvious to all learners.
Etymology
Superior comes from the Latin super 'above', and in astronomy it was used for planets that move 'above' Earth's orbit. That is why a superior planet is one whose path around the Sun is farther from the Sun than Earth’s.