---
title: superiority — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «superiority» in the school dictionary: Superiority is being better, stronger or higher in quality than others. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# superiority

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Superiority, you, other people, She, army, group · **What happens:** be, act, speak, upset, have, make · **To what, where:** quality, friends, superiority, numbers, another, long battery life · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«superiority» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [superiority in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/superiority.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Superiority is being better, stronger or higher in quality than others.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:superiority:m1:1
# text = Superiority is being better, stronger or higher in quality than others.
1	Superiority	superiority	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	cop	_	_
4	better	good	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	stronger	strong	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	4	conj	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	higher	high	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	4	conj	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	quality	quality	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
11	than	than	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Superiority |  |  |  |  | good *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | Superiority *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **be** |  | Superiority *not said here* |  |  | quality |  | than others | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Superiority is also acting as if you are better than other people, which is unkind and annoying.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:superiority:m2:1
# text = Superiority is also acting as if you are better than other people, which is unkind and annoying.
1	Superiority	superiority	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	acting	act	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
6	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	better	good	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	4	xcomp	_	_
10	than	than	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	16	nsubj	_	_
15	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
16	unkind	unkind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	acl:relcl	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	annoying	annoying	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **act** | present · progressive | Superiority |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | you |  |  |  |  | than other people; good *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | present | other people |  |  |  |  | unkind *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **be** |  | other people *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Their team's superiority was clear by half-time.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:superiority:x1:1
# text = Their team's superiority was clear by half-time.
1	Their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	superiority	superiority	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	clear	clear	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
7	by	by	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	half	half	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing|NumForm=Word|NumType=Frac	10	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Their team's superiority |  |  |  | time | clear *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She spoke with an air of superiority that upset her friends.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:superiority:x2:1
# text = She spoke with an air of superiority that upset her friends.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	spoke	speak	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	superiority	superiority	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	upset	upset	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	friends	friend	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **speak** *speech: other* | past | She |  |  |  |  | with a air of superiority | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent with air=Co-Agent |
| 2 | **upset** | past | superiority | her friends |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus friend=Experiencer |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The army had superiority in numbers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:superiority:x3:1
# text = The army had superiority in numbers.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	army	army	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	superiority	superiority	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	numbers	number	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | the army | superiority |  | numbers |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent superiority=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No group of people has superiority over another because of skin colour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:superiority:x4:1
# text = No group of people has superiority over another because of skin colour.
1	No	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	2	det	_	_
2	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	superiority	superiority	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
7	over	over	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	6	nmod	_	_
9	because	because	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADP	12	case	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	fixed	_	_
11	skin	skin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | no group of people | superiority |  | another |  | because skin colour | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent superiority=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The new phone's superiority is its long battery life.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:superiority:x5:1
# text = The new phone's superiority is its long battery life.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	phone	phone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	's	's	PART	POS	_	3	case	_	_
5	superiority	superiority	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
7	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
8	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
9	battery	battery	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the new phone's superiority | superiority's long battery life |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His sense of superiority made him hard to like.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:superiority:x6:1
# text = His sense of superiority made him hard to like.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	sense	sense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	superiority	superiority	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	xcomp	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	like	like	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | His sense of superiority | him *= he* |  |  |  | hard *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset he=Product |
| 2 | **like** | to-infinitive | him *= he* *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot |
| 3 | **sense** |  | His *= he* | superiority |  |  |  |  | nom sense «cognition transitive»: poss=agent of=patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They soon began to boast of their respective superiority to each other in strength and prowess.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:superiority:x7:1
# text = They soon began to boast of their respective superiority to each other in strength and prowess.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	soon	soon	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	3	advmod	_	_
3	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	boast	boast	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
8	respective	respective	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	superiority	superiority	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
10	to	to	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	each	each	DET	DT	ExtPos=PRON|PronType=Rcp	5	obl	_	_
12	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	fixed	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	strength	strength	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	prowess	prowess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | past | They |  |  |  |  | soon *property* | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **boast** *speech: other* | to-infinitive | They *not said here* |  | each | strength and prowess |  | of their respective superiority | vn complain-37.8 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent to each=Recipient |

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**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

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