superman

B2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈsuː.pɚˌmæn/ UK /ˈsuː.pəˌmæn/ See IPA manual

Freq #4322

Meanings

1

noun
a man imagined to possess extraordinary or superhuman powers and abilities

The speculative essay asked whether genetic engineering might someday produce a superman.
2

noun
in philosophy, an imagined superior type of human who transcends ordinary values and limitations; an overman

The translator rendered Nietzsche's Ubermensch as superman, although many scholars now prefer overman.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a man imagined to possess... superhumanextraordinary man

2 noun · in philosophy, an imagined... overmanUbermensch

Opposites

ordinary person

Word family

Forms supermen

Derived forms superhumansuperwoman

Related forms hero humanityoverman

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Don't tug on Superman's cape

Etymology

A transparent compound of super- ("above, beyond") + man. Its philosophical sense developed as an English rendering of German Ubermensch, especially through translations of Nietzsche. The broader sense of an extraordinarily powerful man was later reinforced by popular fiction.

Topics

People & Society

External links

# superman

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈsuː.pɚˌmæn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsuː.pəˌmæn/
**Frequency rank:** 4322

## Meanings
1. a man imagined to possess extraordinary or superhuman powers and abilities
2. in philosophy, an imagined superior type of human who transcends ordinary values and limitations; an overman

## Examples
- The speculative essay asked whether genetic engineering might someday produce a superman.
- The translator rendered Nietzsche's Ubermensch as superman, although many scholars now prefer overman.

## Synonyms
- superhuman
- overman
- Ubermensch

## Antonyms
- ordinary person

## Derived Forms
- superhuman
- superwoman

## Related Forms
- hero
- humanity
- overman

## Roots and Affixes
- Affix: super- - above

## Etymology
A transparent compound of super- ("above, beyond") + man. Its philosophical sense developed as an English rendering of German Ubermensch, especially through translations of Nietzsche. The broader sense of an extraordinarily powerful man was later reinforced by popular fiction.

## Topics
- People & Society

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