inferior

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English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

inferior (comparative more inferior, superlative most inferior)

  1. Lower in rank, status, or quality.
    Anna had always felt inferior to her brother due to poor school grades.
    The pathological liar was morally inferior to his much nicer constituents.
    1. Of low rank, standard or quality.
      an inferior officer
    2. (law) (of a court or tribunal) Susceptible to having its decisions overturned by a higher court.
    3. (economics) Denoting goods or services which are in greater demand during a recession than in a boom, for example second-hand clothes.
  2. Located below:
    2. (anatomy) Situated further below (another part of the body), a direction that in humans corresponds to caudad.
    3. (zoology) Situated in a relatively low posterior or ventral position in a quadrupedal body.
    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.
      Synonym: anterior
    6. (typography) Printed in subscript.
      an inferior figure or letter
    7. (astronomy) Below the horizon.
      the inferior part of a meridian
  3. (astronomy) Nearer to the Sun than the Earth is.
    the inferior or interior planets; an inferior conjunction of Mercury or Venus

Usage notes[edit]

Inferior and superior are generally followed by to; than is seen sometimes, but is viewed as wrong because than requires a grammatical comparative, not a notional one.

Synonyms[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

Coordinate terms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Noun[edit]

inferior (plural inferiors)

  1. A person of lower rank, stature, or ability to another.
    Antonym: superior
    As you are my inferior, I can tell you to do anything I want.
  2. (printing) An inferior letter, figure, or symbol.

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

References[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Catalan[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin īnferiōrem.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

inferior m or f (masculine and feminine plural inferiors)

  1. inferior
  2. lower

Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

German[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

inferior (strong nominative masculine singular inferiorer, not comparable)

  1. subordinate, secondary
  2. (of people) inferior
    sich inferior fühlen ― to feel inferior
  3. substandard, bad

Declension[edit]

Positive forms of inferior (uncomparable)
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist inferior sie ist inferior es ist inferior sie sind inferior
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative inferiorer inferiore inferiores inferiore
genitive inferioren inferiorer inferioren inferiorer
dative inferiorem inferiorer inferiorem inferioren
accusative inferioren inferiore inferiores inferiore
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der inferiore die inferiore das inferiore die inferioren
genitive des inferioren der inferioren des inferioren der inferioren
dative dem inferioren der inferioren dem inferioren den inferioren
accusative den inferioren die inferiore das inferiore die inferioren
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein inferiorer eine inferiore ein inferiores (keine) inferioren
genitive eines inferioren einer inferioren eines inferioren (keiner) inferioren
dative einem inferioren einer inferioren einem inferioren (keinen) inferioren
accusative einen inferioren eine inferiore ein inferiores (keine) inferioren

Further reading[edit]

  • “inferior” in Duden online
  • “inferior” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Latin[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

īnferior (neuter īnferius); third declension

  1. comparative degree of īnferus; lower in situation or place
    1. Subsequent, later, latter in time or succession
    2. Inferior or lower in quality, rank, or number
      • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 4.861–862:
        et quotiēns steterīs domitō sublīmis in orbe,
        omnia sint numerīs īnferiōra tuīs.
        And whenever you will stand exalted for having conquered the world,
        may everything be lower than your shoulders!
        (The poet foretells the eventual dominion of the Roman Empire now that Romulus has founded the city of Rome.)

Inflection[edit]

Third-declension comparative adjective.

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

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Descendants of inferior in other languages

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

Occitan[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin īnferior.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Audio (Béarn)(file)

Adjective[edit]

inferior m (feminine singular inferiora, masculine plural inferiors, feminine plural inferioras)

  1. inferior
  2. lower

Portuguese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin īnferiōrem.

Pronunciation[edit]

 
  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ĩ.fe.ɾiˈoʁ/ [ĩ.fe.ɾɪˈoh], (faster pronunciation) /ĩ.feˈɾjoʁ/ [ĩ.feˈɾjoh]
    • (São Paulo) IPA(key): /ĩ.fe.ɾiˈoɾ/ [ĩ.fe.ɾɪˈoɾ], (faster pronunciation) /ĩ.feˈɾjoɾ/
    • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /ĩ.fe.ɾiˈoʁ/ [ĩ.fe.ɾɪˈoχ], (faster pronunciation) /ĩ.feˈɾjoʁ/ [ĩ.feˈɾjoχ]
    • (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ĩ.fe.ɾiˈoɻ/ [ĩ.fe.ɾɪˈoɻ], (faster pronunciation) /ĩ.feˈɾjoɻ/
 

  • Hyphenation: in‧fe‧ri‧or

Adjective[edit]

inferior m or f (plural inferiores)

  1. inferior
    Antonym: superior

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French inférieur, from Latin inferior.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

inferior m or n (feminine singular inferioară, masculine plural inferiori, feminine and neuter plural inferioare)

  1. inferior
    Antonym: superior

Declension[edit]

Declension of inferior
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative/
accusative 		indefinite inferior inferioară inferiori inferioare
definite inferiorul inferioara inferiorii inferioarele
genitive/
dative 		indefinite inferior inferioare inferiori inferioare
definite inferiorului inferioarei inferiorilor inferioarelor

Related terms[edit]

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin īnferior.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /infeˈɾjoɾ/ [ĩɱ.feˈɾjoɾ]
  • Rhymes: -oɾ
  • Syllabification: in‧fe‧rior

Adjective[edit]

inferior m or f (masculine and feminine plural inferiores)

  1. inferior (of lower quality)
  2. inferior (of lower rank)
  3. inferior; lower (below)
    • 20 August 2023, Jordi Quixano, “España se hace inmortal con la conquista de su primer Mundial femenino”, in El País‎[2]:
      España derribó la puerta de la eternidad para hacerse inmortal, para ponerse el laurel de oro y diamantes, para significarse al fin como la mejor del mundo, cosa que llevaba años haciendo en las categorías inferiores.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Antonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

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