skin-deep

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Studies exploring skin-deep resilience have found evidence of a health toll in outwardly resilient young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds, including higher risk of inflammation, immune cell aging, metabolic disorders, and chronic disease.

From Science Daily • Jan. 4, 2024

Solidarity with the brave people of Ukraine has reminded us all what is possible when empathy is really felt, but it will be bittersweet if our solidarity is really just skin-deep.

From Washington Post • Feb. 28, 2022

Perhaps the biggest shift in gangs is skin-deep — urban white-ethnic neighborhood-based gangs like the Jets no longer really exist.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2021

Is it a surprise, then, that for the first time in the show, the performances, under Marc Bruni’s otherwise hectic and skin-deep direction, strike real notes and admit real feeling?

From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2021

Maybe it would just be melodrama, a skin-deep slash or two, her old theatricality; though perhaps theatrical people are not less risky, but more.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood