inferior

English

Alternative forms

• inferiour (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin īnferior (“lower, inferior”), the comparative of īnferus (“low, nether, underground”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: ĭnfîrēər, (US) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈfɪ(ə)ɹiɚ/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈfɪəɹɪə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪəriə(r)

Adjective

inferior (comparative more inferior, superlative most inferior)

1. 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.

2. of lower rank

   an inferior officer

3. located below
   1. (typography) Printed in subscript.

      an inferior figure or letter

4. (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.
5. (botany) On the side of a flower which is next to the bract; anterior.
6. (astronomy) Nearer to the Sun than the Earth is.

   the inferior or interior planets; an inferior conjunction of Mercury or Venus

7. (astronomy) Below the horizon.

   the inferior part of a meridian

Usage notes

Inferior and superior are generally followed by to; than is seen sometimes, but is viewed as wrong.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:bad

Antonyms

• superior

Coordinate terms

• (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

• inferiority

Translations

of lower quality

• Bashkir: ҡайтыш (qaytïš), кәм (käm)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 低劣 (zh)

• Czech: podřadný
• Finnish: huonompi (fi), huono (fi), kehno (fi)
• Galician: inferior (gl)
• Georgian: დაბალხარისხოვანი (dabalxarisxovani), დაბალხარისხიანი (dabalxarisxiani)
• Italian: inferiore (it)
• Japanese: 劣る (otoru)

• Latin: secundārius
• Polish: podrzędny (pl) m, pośledni (pl) m
• Portuguese: inferior (pt) m, f
• Romanian: inferior (ro)
• Russian: ху́дший (ru) (xúdšij)
• Spanish: inferior (es)
• Swedish: undermålig (sv)
• Turkish: aşağı derecede olan
• Ukrainian: гірший (hiršyj)

of lower rank

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 低賤 (dījiàn)

• Czech: méněcenný (cs)
• Esperanto: malsupra
• Finnish: alempiarvoinen (fi), alempi (fi)
• French: inférieur (fr)
• Galician: inferior (gl)
• Georgian: დაქვემდებარებული (dakvemdebarebuli), დამორჩილებული (damorčilebuli)
• Greek: κατώτερος (el) (katóteros)
• Italian: inferiore (it), di basso rango

• Japanese: 賎しい (iyashii), 下級の (ja) (kakyū no), 下賎な (ja) (gesen na)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: mindreverdig

  Nynorsk: mindreverdig

• Romanian: inferior (ro)
• Russian: нижестоя́щий (ru) (nižestojáščij), подчинённый (ru) (podčinjónnyj), мла́дший (ru) (mládšij) ("junior", of army, police officers), ни́зший (ru) (nízšij)
• Spanish: inferior (es)
• Swedish: underordnad (sv)
• Ukrainian: підлеглий (pidlehlyj)
• Walloon: dizotrin (wa) m, dizotrinne f

located below

• Armenian: ստորին (hy) (storin)
• Finnish: alempi (fi), alhaisempi
• French: inférieur (fr)
• Galician: inferior (gl)
• Georgian: ქვედა (kveda)
• Italian: inferiore (it)

• Romanian: inferior (ro)
• Russian: ни́жний (ru) (nížnij)
• Spanish: inferior (es)
• Ukrainian: нижній (nyžnij)
• Walloon: dizotrin (wa) m, dizotrinne f

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.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} malsupera

Noun

inferior (plural inferiors)

1. a person of lower stature to another

   As you are my inferior, I can tell you to do anything I want.

   Antonym: superior

Translations

person of lower status (noun)

• Czech: podřízený
• Finnish: alempiarvoinen (fi)
• French: inférieur (fr)
• Galician: inferior (gl), subordinado

• Italian: inferiore (it) m, di basso rango
• Japanese: 賎 (ja) (shizu), 下っ端 (shitappa), 目下 (ja) (meshita)
• Spanish: inferior (es)
• Welsh: adlaw m

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

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 下等 (zh) (xiàděng)

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} inferieur (nl)
• German: ^{(please verify)} minderwertig (de)

• Greek: ^{(please verify)} κατώτερος (el) (katóteros)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 열등한 (yeoldeunghan)
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} inferior m, f, ^{(please verify)} inferius n
• Russian: ^{(please verify)} плохонько (ru) (ploxonʹko)

Further reading

• inferior in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• inferior in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• inferior at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• fire iron, fireiron

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Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /im.fə.ɾiˈo/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /im.fe.ɾiˈoɾ/

Adjective

inferior (masculine and feminine plural inferiors)

1. inferior
2. lower

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Latin

Etymology

Comparative form of īnferus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /inˈfe.ri.or/, [ĩːˈfɛ.ri.ɔr]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /inˈfe.ri.or/, [inˈfeː.ri.or]

Adjective

īnferior (neuter īnferius); third declension

1. lower
2. below
3. subsequent, later, latter

Inflection

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

• English: inferior
• Italian: inferiore
• Portuguese: inferior
• Spanish: inferior

References

• 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
    

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Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin inferior.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.fɨˈɾjoɾ/
• Hyphenation: in‧fe‧ri‧or

Adjective

inferior m, f (plural inferiores, comparable)

1. inferior

   Antonym: superior

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin inferior.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /infeˈɾjoɾ/, [ĩɱfeˈɾjoɾ]

Adjective

inferior (plural inferiores)

1. inferior (of lower quality)
2. inferior (of lower rank)
3. inferior (below)

Antonyms

• superior

Derived terms

• anteroinferior
• posteroinferior

 

Related terms

• inferioridad

Further reading

• “inferior” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.