supereminent

S1U1P3E1R1E1M3I1N1E1N1T1
/suːpəɹˈɛmɪnənt/

adjective

Superior to or notable above all others; outstanding; supremely remarkable.

First used 16th c.Scrabble 16

Meanings

adjectivesupereminent (comparative more supereminent, superlative most supereminent)

comparative more supereminent · superlative most supereminent

  1. Superior to or notable above all others; outstanding; supremely remarkable.First known use 16th c.

    The conservatives had come into power just after his marriage, and he had held honourable though not supereminent office.

    1888 September 29, Henry James, “[The Modern Warning.]”, in The Aspern Papers; Louisa Pallant; The Modern Warning, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC
    2 more examples

    so far was beauty adored amongst them, that no man was thought fit to reign that was not in all parts complete and supereminent.

    1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition III, section 2, member 2, subsection ii

    But these two ideas: first, the supereminent claims of the State above the claims of any of the lesser groups included within it, the right of the State to crush out family affection and individual warfare in order to its own perpetuation,—as in the case of Brutus sentencing his own son, of Coriolanus, of the Horatii, etc.; and, secondly, the right of all who are willing to conform to the requirements of the State to be included within the domain of citizenship.

    1924, Felix Adler, The New Statesman 1924-03-08: Volume 22 Issue 568, New York Society for Ethical Culture, page 633

    Synonyms: preeminent, supreme

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveSuperior to or notable above all others; outstanding; supremely remarkable.

Origin

  1. Latinsuperēminēre
  2. Late Latinsupereminens
  3. Middle Frenchsupereminent
  4. Englishsupereminent

From Middle French supereminent, and its source, Late Latin supereminens, adjectival use of Latin superēminēre (corresponding to super- + eminent).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

supereminent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/supereminent

MLA

“supereminent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/supereminent. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “supereminent,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/supereminent.

Source: supereminent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.