superficial
soo-per-FISH-uladjMeaning on the surface only; not deep or thorough
Memory hook SUPER-FISH-al: only skims the SURFACE. The little fish skims the top of the sea all day and never looks below, missing the treasure on the bottom; its view of the sea is superficial.
Luckily, the scratch on the car door was only superficial.
In context His knowledge of the subject was superficial: he could repeat a few famous names and dates, but he could not explain why any of it mattered.
Similar shallow, surface, cursory, skin-deep
Opposite profound, deep, thorough
From Latin superficialis, from superficies (surface): super (above) + facies (face).