inferior
adjective
in·fe·ri·or
| \ in-ˈfir-ē-ər
\
\
Definition of inferior
1
: situated lower down : lower
2a
: of low or lower degree or rank
b
: of poor quality : mediocre
3
: of little or less importance, value, or merit
always felt inferior to his older brother
4a
: situated below another and especially another similar superior part of an upright body
c(1)
: situated below another plant part or organ
(2)
: abaxial
5
: relating to or being a subscript
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Other Words from inferior
inferior
noun
inferiority
\ (ˌ)in-ˌfir-ē-ˈȯr-ə-tē
, -ˈär- \
noun
, -ˈär- \
noun
inferiorly
\ in-ˈfir-ē-ər-lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
Examples of inferior in a Sentence
… the pearls were of inferior quality; they looked like pearlized globs of varying wrinkly shapes.
— Tracie Rozhon, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2002
Sharks, rays, and ratfishes share a special burden: these cartilaginous fishes are saddled with a reputation for being somehow inferior to vertebrates blessed with bony skeletons.
— Carl Zimmer, Natural History, September 2000
No longer do workers and peasants feel inferior to the university-trained.
— Rhea Menzel Whitehead, Saturday Review, 4 Mar. 1972
These pearls are of inferior quality.
They were considered a socially inferior group.
He always felt inferior around his brother.
The judges voted to overturn a ruling made by an inferior court.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Some do their best to avoid overtly claiming that any race is inferior, arguing that each should have its own ethno-state. — The Economist, "What is “White Nationalism”?," 14 Aug. 2019 Clearly, the Soviet Union had the background, know-how, and brains though their political system was inferior to ours in terms of organizing those brains. — Matt Blitz, Popular Mechanics, "Michael Collins Is Ready To Go To Mars," 20 July 2019 Could black people, subjugated and assumed to be inferior, share their masters’ longing for freedom and possess the fearlessness to try to attain it? — Drew Gilpin Faust, The Atlantic, "Race, History, and Memories of a Virginia Girlhood," 18 July 2019 That’s not a criticism, nor does the Note 10 feels cheap or even inferior. — Michael Simon, PCWorld, "Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ hands-on: A new model changes the game, for better or worse," 7 Aug. 2019 An October 1971 exchange between a then-current and future Republican presidents is a reminder that an Oval Office occupant using language suggesting black people are inferior and subhuman is not new. — Eugene Scott, Twin Cities, "Eugene Scott: The new Reagan tapes are ugly, but not surprising, to a lot of black Americans," 2 Aug. 2019 The book repeatedly demeans black and Jewish people as inferior. — Kurtis Alexander, SFChronicle.com, "Alleged Gilroy gunman promoted white supremacist treatise on Instagram," 29 July 2019 Societies regarded women as inferior to men, and that is almost eradicated. — K.n.c., The Economist, "The radical politics of futurists and fascists—and us, here, today," 19 July 2019 The authors of this new law say women with kinky and curly hair are sometimes subject to unequal treatment, and can even be viewed as inferior. — CBS News, "California becomes first state to ban discrimination against natural hair," 4 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'inferior.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for inferior
inferior
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of inferior
: of poor quality : low or lower in quality
: of little or less importance or value
: low or lower in rank
See the full definition for inferior in the English Language Learners Dictionary
inferior
adjective
in·fe·ri·or
| \ in-ˈfir-ē-ər
\
\
Kids Definition of inferior
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: situated lower down (as in place or importance)
an inferior court
2
: of little or less importance, value, or merit
He always felt inferior to his brother.
3
: of poor quality
an inferior education
inferior
nounKids Definition of inferior (Entry 2 of 2)
: a less important person or thing
inferior
adjective