inferior
Contents
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- inferiour (obsolete)
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Latin īnferior (“lower, inferior”), the comparative of īnferus (“low, nether, underground”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- enPR: ĭnfîrēər, (US) IPA(key): /ɪnˈfɪ(ə)ɹiɚ/
- (UK) IPA(key): /ɪnˈfɪəɹɪə/
-
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪəriə(r)
Adjective[edit]
inferior (comparative more inferior, superlative most inferior)
- of lower quality
- Anna had always felt inferior to her brother due to poor school grades.
- Dryden
- Whether they are equal or inferior to my other poems, an author is the most improper judge.
- of lower rank
- an inferior officer
- located below
- (typography) Printed in subscript.
- an inferior figure or letter
- (typography) Printed in subscript.
- (botany) Situated below some other organ; said of a calyx when free from the ovary, and therefore below it, or of an ovary with an adherent and therefore inferior calyx.
- (botany) On the side of a flower which is next to the bract; anterior.
- (astronomy) Nearer to the Sun than the Earth is.
- the inferior or interior planets; an inferior conjunction of Mercury or Venus
- (astronomy) Below the horizon.
- the inferior part of a meridian
Usage notes[edit]
Inferior and superior are generally followed by to; than is seen sometimes, but is viewed as wrong.
Synonyms[edit]
- See also Thesaurus:bad
Antonyms[edit]
Coordinate terms[edit]
- (dentistry location adjectives) anterior, apical, apicocoronal, axial, buccal, buccoapical, buccocervical, buccogingival, buccolabial, buccolingual, bucco-occlusal, buccopalatal, cervical, coronal, coronoapical, distal, distoapical, distobuccal, distocervical, distocoronal, distofacial, distogingival, distoincisal, distolingual, disto-occlusal, distoclusal, distocclusal, distopalatal, facial, gingival, incisal, inferior, labial, lingual, linguobuccal, linguo-occlusal, mandibular, maxillary, mesial, mesioapical, mesiobuccal, mesiocervical, mesiocoronal, mesiodistal, mesiofacial, mesioincisal, mesiogingival, mesiolingual, mesio-occlusal, mesioclusal, mesiocclusal, mesiopalatal, occlusal, palatal, posterior, proximal, superior, vestibular (Category: en:Dentistry) [edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
of lower quality
of lower rank
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located below
inside the flower stalk
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Noun[edit]
inferior (plural inferiors)
- a person of lower stature to another
- As you are my inferior, I can tell you to do anything I want.
Antonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
person of lower status (noun)
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
Further reading[edit]
- inferior in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- inferior in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- inferior at OneLook Dictionary Search
Anagrams[edit]
Catalan[edit]
Adjective[edit]
inferior (masculine and feminine plural inferiors)
Latin[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Comparative form of īnferus.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Classical) IPA(key): /inˈfe.ri.or/, [ĩːˈfɛ.ri.ɔr]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /inˈfe.ri.or/, [inˈfeː.ri.or]
Adjective[edit]
īnferior (neuter īnferius); third declension
Inflection[edit]
Third declension, comparative variant
Number | Singular | Plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case / Gender | Masc./Fem. | Neuter | Masc./Fem. | Neuter | |
nominative | īnferior | īnferius | īnferiōrēs | īnferiōra | |
genitive | īnferiōris | īnferiōrum | |||
dative | īnferiōrī | īnferiōribus | |||
accusative | īnferiōrem | īnferius | īnferiōrēs | īnferiōra | |
ablative | īnferiōre | īnferiōribus | |||
vocative | īnferior | īnferius | īnferiōrēs | īnferiōra |
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- inferior in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- inferior in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- inferior in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
- Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
- later writers: scriptores aetate posteriores or inferiores
- to gain a weak case by clever pleading: causam inferiorem dicendo reddere superiorem (λόγον κρείττω ποιειν) (Brut. 8. 30)
- to be defeated in fight, lose the battle: proelio vinci, superari, inferiorem, victum discedere
- to come off victorious: superiorem (opp. inferiorem), victorem (proelio, pugna) discedere
- later writers: scriptores aetate posteriores or inferiores
Portuguese[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
inferior m, f (plural inferiores, comparable)
Antonyms[edit]
Spanish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Adjective[edit]
inferior (plural inferiores)
Antonyms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Categories:
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- en:Typography
- en:Botany
- en:Astronomy
- en:Dentistry
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:People
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan adjectives
- Catalan epicene adjectives
- Latin 4-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin terms with Ecclesiastical IPA pronunciation
- Latin lemmas
- Latin adjectives
- Latin comparative adjectives
- Latin third declension adjectives
- Latin words in Meissner and Auden's phrasebook
- Portuguese terms derived from Latin
- Portuguese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Portuguese 4-syllable words
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese adjectives
- Spanish terms derived from Latin
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish adjectives