superman
English · Español · Français · Deutsch · Română · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
superman¹
- /ˈs(j)uːpəmæn/ UK
- /ˈsupɚmæn/ US
Where it comes from
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.
noun supermen · Superman
- 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.
- 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, [...].
Opposite: netherman
Superman²
- /ˈs(j)uːpə(ɹ)mæn/ UK
- /ˈsupɚmæn/ US
Where it comes from
From super- + man. Piecewise doublet of Übermensch. 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.
proper noun 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.
Similar: Man of Steel, Supes
noun Supermen · 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
- 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.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: demigod, ubermensch, hero, possibly, nietzschean, guy, comics, comes, hulk, kent, overman, übermensch, superperson, supermanhood, superhuman, transhuman
noun
Opposite: netherman
Translations
Every language
noun übermensch
| Español | superhombre |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 초인 choin |
| 日本語 | 超人 chōjin |
| 中文 | 超人 chāorén |
| हिन्दी | अतिमानव atimānav |
| Português | super-homem |
| Français | surhomme |
| Deutsch | Übermensch |
| Ελληνικά | αρχηγός archigós, υπεράνθρωπος yperánthropos |
| Русский | сверхчелове́к sverxčelovék |
| Tiếng Việt | siêu nhân |
noun person of extraordinary or superhuman powers
| Español | supermán |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 초인 choin |
| 日本語 | 超人 chōjin |
| 中文 | 超人 chāorén |
| हिन्दी | अतिमानव atimānav |
| Português | super-homem |
| Français | superman |
| Deutsch | Supermann |
| Ελληνικά | υπεράνθρωπος yperánthropos |
| Русский | суперме́н supermɛ́n, сверхчелове́к sverxčelovék |
| Tiếng Việt | siêu nhân |
name a fictional character with superhuman powers
| Español | Superhombre |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 슈퍼맨 Syupeomaen |
| 日本語 | スーパーマン Sūpāman |
| 中文 | 超人 Chāorén |
| हिन्दी | सूपरमैन sūparmain |
| Português | Superman, Super-Homem |
| Français | Superman |
| Deutsch | Superman, Supermann |
| Italiano | Superman, Nembo Kid, superuomo |
| Ελληνικά | Υπεράνθρωπος Yperánthropos, Σούπερμαν Soúperman |
| Русский | Суперме́н Supermén |
| Tiếng Việt | Siêu Nhân |
| العربية | سُوبَرْمَان sūbarmān |
| עברית | סופרמן supermen |
Talk about this word "superman." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/superman. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. superman. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/superman "superman." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/superman.Cite this
@misc{superman_2026,
title = {superman},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/superman},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
