CEFR B2

skin-deep

adjective

Meaning

skin-deep means shallow, superficial. It can have more than one sense, so use the alternate meanings and examples to choose the meaning that matches your sentence.

Examples

Chris Huhne, environment spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said Mr Blair's remarks showed he was "delusional" on climate change and that his environmentalism was only "skin deep". - The Independent, 10/01/07
The writer described the response as skin-deep.

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skin-deep (B2)

adjective

Definition

skin-deep means shallow, superficial. It can have more than one sense, so use the alternate meanings and examples to choose the meaning that matches your sentence.

Examples

Chris Huhne, environment spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said Mr Blair's remarks showed he was "delusional" on climate change and that his environmentalism was only "skin deep". - The Independent, 10/01/07
The writer described the response as skin-deep.
A skin-deep tone can change the mood of a conversation.

How to Use skin-deep

skin-deep + noun (collocation): Use skin-deep before a noun to describe that quality. — "The writer described a skin-deep reaction."
become skin-deep (collocation): Use after become, seem, or be for a state or quality. — "The discussion became skin-deep near the end."

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