inferior

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inferior^¹

/ɪnˈfɪə.ɹi.ə/ UK
/ɪnˈfɪːɹɪjə/ British, Southern, Standard
/ɪnˈfɪɹ.i.ɚ/ US
/ɪnˈfiə.ɹi.ə/ New Zealand
/ɪnˈfi.ɾe.əɾ/ Scotland
/ɪnˈfɛːɹi.ə/

Rhymes with -ɪəɹiə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Latin īnferior (“lower in situation or place”), comparative of īnferus (“below, underneath”).

adjective more inferior · most inferior · inferiour

with to Lower in rank, status, or quality. Anna had always felt inferior to her brother due to poor school grades.
Opposite: crowning, ferior, foremost, greater, higher, major, paramount, preeminent, superior, supreme, utmost, vaulting
with to Of low rank, standard or quality. an inferior officer
Similar: awful, horrible, low-grade, low-rent, abysmal, atrocious, bad, chronic, coarse, corny, crap, crapalicious · Opposite: crowning, ferior, foremost, greater, higher, major, paramount, preeminent, superior, supreme, utmost, vaulting
with to (of a court or tribunal) Susceptible to having its decisions overturned by a higher court.
Opposite: crowning, ferior, foremost, greater, higher, major, paramount, preeminent, superior, supreme, utmost, vaulting
with to Denoting goods or services which are in greater demand during a recession than in a boom, for example second-hand clothes.
Opposite: crowning, ferior, foremost, greater, higher, major, paramount, preeminent, superior, supreme, utmost, vaulting
Situated further below (another part of the body), a direction that in humans corresponds to caudad.
Situated in a relatively low posterior or ventral position in a quadrupedal body.
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).
On the side of a flower which is next to the bract.
Similar: anterior
Printed in subscript. an inferior figure or letter
Below the horizon. the inferior part of a meridian
Nearer to the Sun than the Earth is. the inferior or interior planets

noun inferiors · inferiour

A person of lower rank, stature, or ability to another. ,
Similar: underling, subordinate · Opposite: superior
An inferior letter, figure, or symbol.

Inferior^²

proper noun

abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of Lake Inferior

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: substandard, low-grade, lowly, low-level, petty, third-rate, second-class, shoddy, poor, small, execrable, mediocre, deficient, sleazy, less, modest

adjective

Translations

Every language

adj of lower quality

Español	inferior
日本語	劣る otoru
中文	低劣 dīliè
हिन्दी	नीच nīc, अधोमानक adhomānak
Português	inferior
Italiano	inferiore
Română	inferior
Русский	ху́дший xúdšij

adj of lower rank

Español	inferior, malmatado
日本語	賎しい iyashii, 下級の kakyū no, 下賎な gesen na
中文	低賤 /低贱 dījiàn
Français	inférieur
Deutsch	untergeordnet, nachgeordnet, unterlegen
Italiano	inferiore
Ελληνικά	κατώτερος katóteros
Română	inferior
Русский	нижестоя́щий nižestojáščij, подчинённый podčinjónnyj, мла́дший mládšij, ни́зший nízšij

adj located below

Español	inferior
Français	inférieur
Deutsch	tiefer
Italiano	inferiore
Ελληνικά	κάτω káto
Română	inferior
Русский	ни́жний nížnij

noun person of lower status

Español	inferior
日本語	賎 shizu, 下っ端 shitappa, 目下 meshita
中文	下屬 /下属 xiàshǔ
Français	inférieur
Italiano	inferiore, di basso rango
Ελληνικά	υφιστάμενος yfistámenos
Русский	подчинённый podčinjónnyj

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MLA

"inferior." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/inferior. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

inferior. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/inferior

Chicago

"inferior." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/inferior.

BibTeX

@misc{inferior_2026,
  title = {inferior},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/inferior},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}