Context: Classification techniques of supervised machine learning have been successfully applied to various domains of practice. When building a predictive model, there are two important criteria: predictive accuracy and interpretability, which generally have a trade-off relationship. In particular, interpretability should be accorded greater emphasis in the domains where the incorporation of expert knowledge into a predictive model is required. Objective: The aim of this research is to propose a new classification model, called superposed naive Bayes (SNB), which transforms a naive Bayes ensemble into a simple naive Bayes model by linear approximation. Method: In order to evaluate the predictive accuracy and interpretability of the proposed method, we conducted a comparative study using well-known classification techniques such as rule-based learners, decision trees, regression models, support vector machines, neural networks, Bayesian learners, and ensemble learners, over 13 real-world public datasets. Results: A trade-off analysis between the accuracy and interpretability of different classification techniques was performed with a scatter plot comparing relative ranks of accuracy with those of interpretability. The experiment results show that the proposed method (SNB) can produce a balanced output that satisfies both accuracy and interpretability criteria. Conclusions: SNB offers a comprehensible predictive model based on a simple and transparent model structure, which can provide an effective way for balancing the trade-off between accuracy and interpretability.