superiorly
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su·pe·ri·or
(so͝o-pîr′ē-ər)adj.
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. Presuming to be or suggesting that one is morally or socially better than others; disdainful or 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.
n.
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.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin, comparative of superus, upper, from super, over; see uper in Indo-European roots.]
su·pe′ri·or′i·ty (-ôr′ĭ-tē, -ŏr′-) n.
su·pe′ri·or·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.