inferior
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in·fe·ri·or
(ĭn-fîr′ē-ər)adj.
1. Low or lower in order, degree, or rank: Captain is an inferior rank to major.
2.
a. Low or lower in quality, value, or estimation: inferior craft; felt inferior to his older sibling.
b. Second-rate; poor: an inferior translation.
3. Situated under or beneath.
4. Botany Located below the perianth and other floral parts. Used of an ovary.
5. Anatomy Located beneath or directed downward.
6. Printing Set below the normal line of type; subscript.
7. Astronomy
a. Orbiting between Earth and the sun: Mercury is an inferior planet.
b. Lying below the horizon.
n.
1. A person lower in rank, status, or accomplishment than another.
2. Printing An inferior character, such as the number 2 in CO2.
[Middle English, from Latin īnferior, comparative of īnferus, low; see n̥dher- in Indo-European roots.]
in·fe′ri·or′i·ty (-ôr′ĭ-tē, -ŏr′-) n.
in·fe′ri·or·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
inferior
(ɪnˈfɪərɪə)adj
1. lower in value or quality
2. lower in rank, position, or status; subordinate
3. not of the best; mediocre; commonplace
4. lower in position; situated beneath
5. (Botany) (of a plant ovary) enclosed by and fused with the receptacle so that it is situated below the other floral parts
6. (Astronomy) astronomy
a. orbiting or occurring between the sun and the earth: an inferior planet; inferior conjunction.
b. lying below the horizon
7. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) printing (of a character) printed at the foot of an ordinary character, as the 2 in H2O
n
8. an inferior person
9. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) printing an inferior character
[C15: from Latin: lower, from inferus low]
inferiority n
inˈferiorly adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
in•fe•ri•or
(ɪnˈfɪər i ər)adj.
1. low or lower in station, rank, degree, or grade (often fol. by to).
2. low or lower in place or position; closer to the bottom or base.
3. of comparatively low grade; poor in quality; substandard.
4. Bot.
a. situated below some other organ.
b. (of a calyx) inserted below the ovary.
c. (of an ovary) having a superior calyx.
5. Anat. (of an organ or part)
a. lower in place or position; situated beneath another.
b. being toward the feet.
Compare superior (def. 9). 6. Astron.
a. (of a planet) having an orbit within that of the earth, as Mercury and Venus.
b. (of a conjunction of an inferior planet) taking place between the sun and the earth.
7. written or printed low on a line of text, as the “2” in H2O; subscript. Compare superior (def. 11).
n. 8. a person inferior to another or others, as in rank or merit.
9. subscript.
[1400–50; late Middle English < Latin, derivative of infer(us) lower]
in•fe•ri•or•i•ty (ɪnˌfɪər iˈɔr ɪ ti, -ˈɒr-) n.
in•fe′ri•or•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
inferior
If one thing is inferior to another, it is of poorer quality than the other thing.
His photographs were inferior to those taken by Ernie.
Tolstoy's thinking was vastly inferior to his fiction.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun | 1. | inferior - one of lesser rank or station or quality follower - a person who accepts the leadership of another |
2. | inferior - a character or symbol set or printed or written beneath or slightly below and to the side of another character grapheme, graphic symbol, character - a written symbol that is used to represent speech; "the Greek alphabet has 24 characters" | |
Adj. | 1. | inferior - of or characteristic of low rank or importance subordinate, low-level - lower in rank or importance low - literal meanings; being at or having a relatively small elevation or upward extension; "low ceilings"; "low clouds"; "low hills"; "the sun is low"; "low furniture"; "a low bow" low - less than normal in degree or intensity or amount; "low prices"; "the reservoir is low" superior - of or characteristic of high rank or importance; "a superior ruler" |
2. | inferior - of low or inferior quality worst - (superlative of `bad') most wanting in quality or value or condition; "the worst player on the team"; "the worst weather of the year" superior - of high or superior quality or performance; "superior wisdom derived from experience"; "superior math students" | |
3. | inferior - written or printed below and to one side of another character printing process, printing - reproduction by applying ink to paper as for publication | |
4. | inferior - having an orbit between the sun and the Earth's orbit; "Mercury and Venus are inferior planets" astronomy, uranology - the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole superior - having an orbit farther from the sun than the Earth's orbit; "Mars and Jupiter are the closest in of the superior planets" | |
5. | inferior - lower than a given reference point; "inferior alveolar artery" anatomy, general anatomy - the branch of morphology that deals with the structure of animals bottom - situated at the bottom or lowest position; "the bottom drawer" | |
6. | inferior - falling short of some prescribed norm; "substandard housing" nonstandard - varying from or not adhering to a standard; "nonstandard windows"; "envelopes of nonstandard sizes"; "nonstandard lengths of board" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
inferior
adjective
1. lower, junior, minor, secondary, subsidiary, lesser, humble, subordinate, lowly, less important, menial the inferior status of women in many societies
lower higher, senior, superior, greater, top
lower higher, senior, superior, greater, top
2. substandard, bad, poor, mean, worse, poorer, pants (informal), flawed, rotten, dire, indifferent, duff (Brit. informal), mediocre, second-class, deficient, imperfect, second-rate, shoddy, low-grade, unsound, downmarket, low-rent (informal, chiefly U.S.), for the birds (informal), wretched, two-bit (U.S. & Canad. slang), crappy (slang), no great shakes (informal), poxy (slang), dime-a-dozen (informal), piss-poor (slang), chickenshit (U.S. slang), bush-league (Austral. & N.Z. informal), not much cop (Brit. slang), tinhorn (U.S. slang), half-pie (N.Z. informal), of a sort or of sorts, strictly for the birds (informal) The cassettes were of inferior quality.
substandard fine, excellent, first-class
substandard fine, excellent, first-class
noun
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
inferior
adjective1. Below another in standing or importance:
junior, lesser, low, lower, minor, minor-league, petty, secondary, small, subaltern, subordinate, under.
Informal: smalltime.
2. Of low or lower quality:
One belonging to a lower class or rank:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
podřízenýhoršípodřadnějšípodřadný
underordnetdårligereringe
alempiarvoinen henkilöhuonompi
podređenislabiji
rosszabb minőségű
lægra setturlægri; lélegur; lélegri
劣った目下の者
손아랫사람열등한
blogesnė kokybėblogesnisnepilnavertiškumasžemesnė padėtisžemesnis
mazvērtīgākssliktāks
podradnejší
manjvredenpodrejen
underlägsenunderordnad
ด้อยกว่าผู้ด้อยกว่า
thua kémthuộc cấp
inferior
[ɪnˈfɪərɪəʳ]A. ADJ
1. (in quality, rank) [person, status, position] → inferior; [product, work, service] → de calidad inferior
to feel inferior → sentirse inferior
of inferior quality → de calidad inferior
to be inferior to sth/sb → ser inferior a algo/algn
to feel inferior → sentirse inferior
of inferior quality → de calidad inferior
to be inferior to sth/sb → ser inferior a algo/algn
2. (Anat, Bot) (= lower) → inferior
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
inferior
[ɪnˈfɪəriər] adj
[person, quality, status] → inférieur(e)
to feel inferior → se sentir inférieur(e)
to make sb feel inferior → donner à qn un sentiment d'infériorité
to feel inferior to sb → se sentir inférieur(e) à qn
to be inferior to → être inférieur(e) à
to feel inferior → se sentir inférieur(e)
to make sb feel inferior → donner à qn un sentiment d'infériorité
to feel inferior to sb → se sentir inférieur(e) à qn
to be inferior to → être inférieur(e) à
[goods] → de qualité inférieure
n
(= person of lesser worth) → inférieur(e) m/f
to consider sb an inferior → considérer qn comme inférieur(e)
to consider sb an inferior → considérer qn comme inférieur(e)
(in rank) → subalterne mf
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
inferior
adj
(in quality) → minderwertig; person → unterlegen; (in rank) → untergeordnet, niedriger; quality → geringer, minderwertig; (Jur) court → untergeordnet; an inferior workman → ein weniger guter Handwerker; to be inferior to something (in quality) → von minderer or geringerer Qualität sein als etw, gegen etw abfallen or nicht ankommen; to be inferior to somebody → jdm unterlegen sein; (in rank) → jdm untergeordnet or nachgestellt sein; he feels inferior → er kommt sich (dat) → unterlegen or minderwertig vor
(Typ) inferior letter → tiefstehender Buchstabe
(Biol) order, species → niedriger
n one’s inferiors (in social standing) → Leute or Personen pl → aus einer niedrigeren Schicht; (in rank) → seine Untergebenen pl
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
inferior
[ɪnˈfɪərɪəʳ]1. adj (in quality, rank) inferior (to) → inferiore (a); (work, goods) → scadente
to feel inferior → sentirsi inferiore
to feel inferior → sentirsi inferiore
2. n → inferiore m/f; (in rank) → subalterno/a
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
inferior
(inˈfiəriə) adjective (sometimes with to).
1. of poor, or poorer, quality etc. This carpet is inferior to that.
2. lower in rank. Is a colonel inferior to a brigadier?
inˌferiˈority (-ˈo-) nounKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
inferior
→ أَدْنَى, سُفْليّ podřadný, podřízený ringe, underordnet Untergebener, untergeordnet υποδεέστερος, υφιστάμενος inferior alempiarvoinen henkilö, huonompi inférieur, subordonné podređeni, slabiji inferiore 劣った, 目下の者 손아랫사람, 열등한 inferieur, ondergeschikte underlegen, underordnet niższy, podwładny inferior низший underlägsen, underordnad ด้อยกว่า, ผู้ด้อยกว่า aşağı, ast thua kém, thuộc cấp 下等的, 下级Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
in·fer·i·or
a. inferior.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
inferior
adj (anat) inferiorEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.