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inferior - 8 dictionary results

in⋅fe⋅ri⋅or

  [in-feer-ee-er]
Use inferior in a Sentence
–adjective
1. lower in station, rank, degree, or grade (often fol. by to): a rank inferior to colonel.
2. lower in place or position; closer to the bottom or base: descending into the inferior regions of the earth.
3. of comparatively low grade; poor in quality; substandard: an inferior product.
4. less important, valuable, or worthy: B+ bonds are inferior to AAA bonds.
5. acting or performing in a way that is comparatively poor or mediocre: an inferior observer of human nature.
6. Botany.
a. situated below some other organ.
b. (of a calyx) inserted below the ovary.
c. (of an ovary) having a superior calyx.
7. Anatomy. (of an organ or part)
a. lower in place or position; situated beneath another.
b. toward the feet. Compare superior (def. 9).
8. Astronomy. lying below the horizon: the inferior part of a meridian.
9. Printing. written or printed low on a line of text, as the “2” in H2O; subscript. Compare superior (def. 10).
–noun
10. a person inferior to another or others, as in rank or merit.
11. Also called subscript. Printing. a letter, number, or symbol written or printed low on a line of text. Compare superior (def. 12).
Origin:
1400–50; late ME < L, equiv. to infer(us) lower (cf. under ) + -ior comp. suffix

Related forms:
in⋅fe⋅ri⋅or⋅i⋅ty  [in-feer-ee-awr-i-tee, -or-] , noun
in⋅fe⋅ri⋅or⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
3. mediocre, low-quality, second-rate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To inferior
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.
    1. Low or lower in quality, value, or estimation: inferior craft; felt inferior to his older sibling.
    2. Second-rate; poor: an inferior translation.
    3. Orbiting between Earth and the sun: Mercury is an inferior planet.
    4. Lying below the horizon.
  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
    1. Orbiting between Earth and the sun: Mercury is an inferior planet.
    2. 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 dher- in Indo-European roots.]
in·fe'ri·or'i·ty (-ôr'ĭ-tē, -ŏr'-) n., in·fe'ri·or·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Inferior

In*fe"ri*or\, a. [L., compar. of inferus that is below, underneath, the lower; akin to E. under: cf. F. inf['e]rieur. See Under.]

1. Lower in place, rank, excellence, etc.; less important or valuable; subordinate; underneath; beneath.

A thousand inferior and particular propositions. --I. Watts.

The body, or, as some love to call it, our inferior nature. --Burke.

Whether they are equal or inferior to my other poems, an author is the most improper judge. --Dryden.

2. Poor or mediocre; as, an inferior quality of goods.

3. (Astron.) (a) Nearer the sun than the earth is; as, the inferior or interior planets; an inferior conjunction of Mercury or Venus. (b) Below the horizon; as, the inferior part of a meridian.

4. (Bot.) (a) 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. (b) On the side of a flower which is next the bract; anterior.

5. (Min.) Junior or subordinate in rank; as, an inferior officer.

Inferior court (Law), a court subject to the jurisdiction of another court known as the superior, or higher, court.

Inferior letter, Inferior figure (Print.), a small letter or figure standing at the bottom of the line (opposed to superior letter or figure), as in A_2, B_n, 2 and n are inferior characters.

Inferior tide, the tide corresponding to the moon's transit of the meridian, when below the horizon.

Inferior

In*fe"ri*or\, n. A person lower in station, rank, intellect, etc., than another.

A great person gets more by obliging his inferior than by disdaining him. --South.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : inferior
Spanish: inferior, peorinferior, peor,
German: minderwertig,
Japanese: 劣る
More Translations »

inferior  (adj.)
1432, from L. inferior "lower," comp. form of inferus (adj.) "that is below or beneath," from infra "below." Noun meaning "a person inferior to another in rank, etc.," is from 1502. Inferiority complex first attested 1922.
"The surrender of life is nothing to sinking down into acknowledgment of inferiority." [John C. Calhoun]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: in·fe·ri·or
Function: adjective
: of lower status, rank, or priority
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Main Entry: in·fe·ri·or
Pronunciation: in-'fir-E-&r
Function: adjective
1 : situated below and closer to the feet thananother and especially another similar part of an upright body especially of a human being —compare SUPERIOR 1
2 : situated in a more posterior or ventral position in the body of a quadruped —compare SUPERIOR 2
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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inferior in·fe·ri·or (ĭn-fēr'ē-ər)
adj.

  1. Low or lower in order, degree, or rank.
  2. Low or lower in quality, value, or estimation.
  3. Second-rate; poor.
  4. Situated below or directed downward.
  5. In human anatomy, situated nearer the soles in relation to a reference point.
in·fe'ri·or'i·ty (-ôr'ĭ-tē) n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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