2

Is there a word for something or somebody who fulfils the unnecessary while not fulfilling the necessary ?

Example: Matthew is a handsome thief.

It is good but not necessary that he is handsome, which he is, but it is necessary that is he not a thief, which he is.

Or for example, a car that is water-proof, which is good but unnecessary, while the velocity meter doesn't work, so the car doesn't meet the required demands even though it is water-proof.

Or for example, a product that looks nice (which is not necessary) and doesn't work good enough.

Or for example, a person who is nice or nice-looking (which is not necessary) while being dishonest and thus not fulfilling the necessary requirements while being more than necessary nice.

Update

Now I think that maybe a word for it could be suboptimization while not capturing the notion that you're actually failing the necessary.

Improve this question
0

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

superficially, defined by The Oxford English Dictionary

  1. As regards outward appearance or form, esp. as distinguished from inner reality; externally, on the surface; seemingly, apparently, ostensibly. Also: on a cursory examination, at a glance

For your first and third examples: Matthew is only superficially good husband material: he is good looking, but untrustworthy.

For your second example: The car is superficially a good buy, but when you look under the hood, it is a different story.

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    This seems inapt. The request is for something positive that may be entirely evident and unnecessary (like the water-tightness of a car) co-existing with an unrelated fault (like the broken speedometer). You've given a word that describes something that has the mere appearance of being positive that masks a related fault (like the husband who only pretends to be faithful).
    – deadrat
    Commented Dec 14, 2016 at 20:55
  • @deadrat Now I think that maybe a word for it could be suboptimization while not capturing the notion that you're actually failing the necessary.
    – Niklas Rosencrantz
    Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 17:15

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .