inferior

English

Alternative forms

• inferiour (obsolete)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

• 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 Wikisaurus:bad

Antonyms

• superior

Coordinate terms

• (dentistry location adjectives) anterior,‎ apical,‎ axial,‎ buccal,‎ cervical,‎ coronal,‎ distal,‎ distobuccal,‎ distofacial,‎ distoincisal,‎ distolingual,‎ facial,‎ gingival,‎ incisal,‎ inferior,‎ labial,‎ lingual,‎ mandibular,‎ maxillary,‎ mesial,‎ mesiobuccal,‎ mesiodistal,‎ mesiofacial,‎ mesioincisal,‎ mesiolingual,‎ occlusal,‎ palatal,‎ posterior,‎ proximal,‎ superior,‎ vestibular ^{(Category: en:Dentistry) [edit]}

Related terms

• inferiority

Translations

of lower quality

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 低劣 (zh)

• Czech: podřadný
• Galician: inferior (gl)
• Italian: inferiore (it)
• Japanese: 劣る (otoru)
• Portuguese: inferior (pt) m, f

• Romanian: inferior (ro)
• Russian: худший (ru) (xúdšij)
• Swedish: undermålig (sv)
• Turkish: aşağı derecede olan

of lower rank

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 低劣 (zh)

• Czech: méněcenný (cs)
• Galician: inferior (gl)
• Italian: inferiore (it), di basso rango
• Japanese: 賎しい (iyashii), 下級の (kakyū no), 下賎な (gesen na)

• Romanian: inferior (ro)
• Russian: нижестоящий (ru) (nižestojáščij), подчинённый (ru) (podčinjónnyj), младший (ru) (mládšij) ("junior", of army, police officers), низший (ru) (nízšij)
• Swedish: underordnad (sv)
• Walloon: dizotrin (wa) m, dizotrinne f

located below

• Armenian: ստորին (storin)
• Galician: inferior (gl)
• Italian: inferiore (it)
• Romanian: inferior (ro)

• Russian: нижний (ru) (nížnij)
• 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 Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} malsupera

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} inferior

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.

Antonyms

• superior

Translations

person of lower status (noun)

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

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

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 Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Chinese: 下等 (xiadeng)
• Dutch: inferieur
• Finnish: alempi (fi), alempiarvoinen
• German: minderwertig (de)
• Greek: κατώτερος (el) (katóteros)

• Korean: 열등한 (yeoldeunghan)
• Latin: inferior m/f, inferius n
• Russian: плохонько (plokhon'ko)

External links

• 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

• fire iron

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Latin

Adjective

īnferior (comparative of inferus)

1. lower

Inflection

Third declension, comparative variant.

Number	Singular			Plural
Case \ Gender	Masc./Fem.	Neuter		Masc./Fem.	Neuter
nominative	īnferior	īnferius		īnferiōrēs	īnferiōra
genitive	īnferiōris	īnferiōris		īnferiōrum	īnferiōrum
dative	īnferiōrī	īnferiōrī		īnferiōribus	īnferiōribus
accusative	īnferiōrem	īnferius		īnferiōrēs	īnferiōra
ablative	īnferiōre	īnferiōre		īnferiōribus	īnferiōribus
vocative	īnferior	īnferius		īnferiōrēs	īnferiōra

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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

Antonyms

• superior

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Spanish

Adjective

inferior m, f (plural inferiores)

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

Antonyms

• superior

Related terms

• inferioridad