ˈsüpə(r)ˌman, -maa(ə)n noun
( plural supermen )
Etymology: translation of German übermensch
1. : an ideal superior man: as
a. : one that according to the philosophy of Nietzsche has learned to discipline himself by foregoing fleeting pleasures and sublimating his baser drives to attain happiness and dominance through possessing and exercising creative power and is of a type that has appeared at rare intervals in history
b. : a future man produced in an evolutionary struggle for survival or by selective breeding
c. : one fitted to survive in an egoistic striving for mastery
2. : a person of extraordinary power or achievements in one field or in general : an extraordinarily great or successful person : a superhuman individual
social illiterates who are simultaneously scientific supermen — Mark Starr
an omnicompetent administration by supermen — Roscoe Pound
3. : a fictional hero represented as having extraordinary physical prowess or performing highly improbable feats and depicted with such scant attention to his mental and emotional makeup that he appears rather stupid
when … the superman of this book went down to defeat, it was more in terms of plot than actuality — J.D.Hart