superman
Syllables: su·per·man/ˈs(j)uːpəmæn/US/ˈsupɚmæn/
superman noun: an imagined superior type of human being representing a new stage of human development; an übermensch; (loosely), a man of extraordinary powers.
Noun (1)
superman (plural supermen)
- An imagined superior type of human being representing a new stage of human development; an übermensch; (loosely), a man of extraordinary powers.
- Nietzsche wrote of the coming of the superman.
- Man does desire an ideal Superman with such energy as he can spare from his nutrition, and has in every age magnified the best living substitute for it he can find.1901–1903, John Tanner [pseudonym; George Bernard Shaw], “[The Revolutionist’s Handbook and Pocket Companion] Man’s Objection to His Own Improvement”, in Man and Superman. […], Westminster [London]...
- Someone likened to the comics character Superman; a man of seemingly superhuman powers.
- By the latter part of 1848, the throne of Hudson the Railway King who had been called in in 1845 as a superman to save the Eastern Counties Railway, was tottering to its fall, [...].1941 December, Kenneth Brown, “The Newmarket & Chesterford Railway—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 533
- I wanted someone whose income combined with mine could afford us a family, an apartment, a car, and all the travel, luxury, and fun we could possibly tolerate. I wanted a Superman.2010 August, A[lex] E[chevarria] Roman, chapter 25, in The Superman Project: A Chico Santana Mystery, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 218
Proper noun capitalized: Superman
Superman (countable and uncountable, plural Supermen)
- A fictional comic-book superhero with superhuman strength and speed, X-ray vision, and the ability to fly.
- […] hoping against hope that she, with something like Superman's X-ray vision, might see through the photograph and behind it to the truth about Harris's architecture.2000, Lisa Germany, Harwell Hamilton Harris, Univ of California Press, →ISBN, page vii
- But here's the big question: can this rip-snorting derivative lay 210 bhp down through its front wheels without forcing you to maintain Superman levels of grip on the steering wheel? Yes.2002, Autocar, page viii
- Synonyms:
- Man of Steel, Supes
Noun (2) capitalized: Superman
Superman (countable and uncountable, plural Supermen or Supermans)
- Alternative letter-case form of superman: a man of extraordinary or seemingly superhuman powers.
- A stunt in which the rider releases both hands from the handlebars in mid-air.
- [page 77] Riders should adapt their own style when doing Supermans, and shouldn't get hung up trying to do it the same way that someone else does. […] [page 79] An extension of the Superman is a trick called the Superman Seat Grab. Even more impressive than the Superman itself, this trick was again...2000, Garth Milan, edited by Sara Perfetti, Freestyle Motocross: Jump Tricks from the Pros, Osceola, Wis.: MBI Publishing Company, →ISBN, pages 77 and 79
- I'm still trying to do the tricks Nicknack, Superman, and Bar hop. […] Superman is where you grab the handlebars and let your feet and body free.2003, Dalton Cooper, “The First Time I Got My Dirt Bike”, in TWIGS in the Mitten, New York, N.Y.: School Success Press, iUniverse, →ISBN, pages 69–70
- An exercise in which one lies prone and lifts one's arms and legs, with only the abdomen touching the ground.
- A flavor of ice cream that is a mixture of blue moon ice cream, and other ice cream flavors that are colored red and yellow.
superman meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
superman in Hindi
- übermensch
- अतिमानव atimānav
- person of extraordinary or superhuman powers
- अतिमानव atimānav
superman in Tamil
- சூப்பர்மேன், சூப்பர் மேன்
superman in Marathi
- सुपरमॅन, सुपरमन
superman in Urdu
- سپر مین, سپرمین
More languagesFewer languages
- superman in Bengali
- সুপারম্যান
- superman in Telugu
- సూపర్మ్యాన్, సూపర్ మ్యాన్
- superman in Malayalam
- സൂപ്പർമാൻ
- superman in Kannada
- ಸೂಪರ್ಮ್ಯಾನ್, ಸೂಪರ್ ಮ್ಯಾನ್
- superman in Punjabi
- ਸੁਪਰਮੈਨ
- superman in Gujarati
- સુપરમેન, સુપર્મૅન
- superman in Odia
- ସୁପର୍ମ୍ଯ଼ାନ୍, ସୁପରମ୍ଯ଼ାନ୍, ସୁପର୍ମ୍ଯ଼ାନ
- superman in Nepali
- सुपरम्यान, सुपारम्यान, सुपर्म्यान
- superman in Tagalog
- higtao
- superman in Vietnamese
- siêu nhân
Examples of superman in a sentence
- And just the same shall man be to the Superman: a laughing-stock, a thing of shame.1909, Friedrich Nietzsche; Thomas Common, transl., “Zarathustra's Prologue”, in Thus Spake Zarathustra, New York, N.Y.: The Modern Library...
- Just say the word, - teetotal, vegetarian, aeronaut, theosophist, superman."1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
- Early in Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov has become obsessed with the notion that he himself is a "superman." Therefore, he thinks, he is not subject to the laws that govern ordinary people.2016, A Study Guide for Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” (Novels for Students), Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale; Cengage Learning...
- What type of human weakness might a being of unfathomable power—a superman—inadvertently expose to the keen analytic mind of an avenging dark knight?2016, Patrick J. Reider, “How Batman Cowed a God”, in Nicolas Michaud, editor, Batman, Superman, and Philosophy: Badass or Boyscout?...
Synonyms of superman
Antonyms
Forms of superman
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | supermen |
| alternative form | Superman |
| plural | Supermen |
| plural | Supermans |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Supermen |
Origin of superman
A calque of German Übermensch; super- + man. The German word was introduced by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) in his work Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 1883), and rendered in English as superman by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) in the play Man and Superman (1903) and by Thomas Common (1850–1919) in his 1909 translation of Nietzsche’s work. The “person of extraordinary powers” sense was reinforced by the DC Comics’ character Superman, who first appeared in Action Comics #1 dated June 1938.
From super- + man. The character, created by Jerry Siegel (1914–1996) and Joe Shuster (1914–1992), first appeared in DC Comics’ Action Comics #1 dated June 1938. The ice-cream flavor is named in reference to the red, yellow and blue of the superhero's costume.
Words formed from superman
Phrases with superman
Questions about superman
- What does superman mean?
- Superman means an imagined superior type of human being representing a new stage of human development; an übermensch; (loosely), a man of extraordinary powers.
- What is superman in Hindi?
- Superman in Hindi is अतिमानव (atimānav). See Superman meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use superman in a sentence?
- And just the same shall man be to the Superman: a laughing-stock, a thing of shame.
- What part of speech is superman?
- Superman can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce superman?
- Superman is pronounced /ˈs(j)uːpəmæn/ (UK).
- What is the plural of superman?
- The plural of superman is supermen.
Words near superman in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: superman (page history and authors); Superman (page history and authors); superman (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); superman (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); superman (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); superman (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); superman (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); superman (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); superman (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); superman (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); superman (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); superman (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); superman (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-superman.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Superman.wav.
Cite this entry: “superman.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/superman. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.