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.

a. Low or lower in quality, value, or estimation: inferior craft; felt inferior to his older sibling.

b. Second-rate; poor: an inferior translation.

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

a. Orbiting between Earth and the sun: Mercury is an inferior planet.

b. Lying below the horizon.

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 n̥dher- in Indo-European roots.]

in·fe′ri·or′i·ty (-ôr′ĭ-tē, -ŏr′-) n.

in·fe′ri·or·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	inferiority - the state of being inferior lower rank, lower status low status, lowness, lowliness - a position of inferior status; low in station or rank or fortune or estimation backseat - a secondary or inferior position or status; "tennis has had to take a backseat while his work is so demanding" shade - a position of relative inferiority; "an achievement that puts everything else in the shade"; "his brother's success left him in the shade" subordinateness, subsidiarity - secondary importance
	2.	inferiority - an inferior quality low quality caliber, calibre, quality - a degree or grade of excellence or worth; "the quality of students has risen"; "an executive of low caliber" poorness - the quality of being poorly made or maintained; "she was unrecognizable because of the poorness of the photography" scrubbiness, scrawniness - the property of being stunted and inferior in size or quality; "the scrawniness of sickly trees" second class - not the highest quality in a classification wretchedness - the quality of being poor and inferior and sorry; "he has compiled a record second to none in its wretchedness" high quality, superiority - the quality of being superior
	3.	inferiority - the quality of being a competitive disadvantage unfavorable position disadvantage - the quality of having an inferior or less favorable position

inferiority

noun subservience, subordination, lowliness, servitude, abasement, inferior status or standing I found it difficult to shake off a sense of inferiority.
subservience dominance, superiority, ascendancy, advantage

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

دونيَّه، حِطَّه، دُنو المنزلَه

podřadnostpodřízenost

mindreværd

Minderwertigkeit

κατωτερότητα

infériorité

alsóbbrendûség

lægri staîa, minni gæîi; vanmáttur

inferiorit...inferiorità

mindreverd

aşağılıkdüşüklük

下等

inferiority

[ɪnˌfɪərɪˈɒrɪtɪ]

A. N → inferioridad f
inferiority to sth/sb → inferioridad f frente a or con respecto a algo/algn

B. CPD inferiority complex N (Psych) → complejo m de inferioridad

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

inferiority

[ɪnˌfɪəriˈɒrɪti] n → infériorité finferiority complex n → complexe m d'infériorité

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

inferiority

n (in quality) → Minderwertigkeit f; (of person) → Unterlegenheit f → (to gegenüber); (in rank) → untergeordnete Stellung, niedrigere Stellung, niedrigerer Rang (to als)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

inferiority

[ɪnˌfɪərɪˈɒrɪtɪ] n → inferiorità

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

inferior

(inˈfiəriə) adjective

(sometimes with to).

1. of poor, or poorer, quality etc. This carpet is inferior to that.

2. lower in rank. Is a colonel inferior to a brigadier?

inˌferiˈority (-ˈo-) noun

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

This it is, that for ever keeps God's true princes of the Empire from the world's hustings; and leaves the highest honors that this air can give, to those men who become famous more through their infinite inferiority to the choice hidden handful of the Divine Inert, than through their undoubted superiority over the dead level of the mass.

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But it must often have happened that a new species belonging to some one group will have seized on the place occupied by a species belonging to a distinct group, and thus caused its extermination; and if many allied forms be developed from the successful intruder, many will have to yield their places; and it will generally be allied forms, which will suffer from some inherited inferiority in common.

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He was waited upon over the factory, shown the machinery by George, who, in high spirits, talked so fluently, held himself so erect, looked so handsome and manly, that his master began to feel an uneasy consciousness of inferiority. What business had his slave to be marching round the country, inventing machines, and holding up his head among gentlemen?

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Her partiality for this gentleman was not of recent origin; and he had been long withheld only by inferiority of situation from addressing her.

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In man or fish, wriggling is a sign of inferiority. To the whale, his tail is the sole means of propulsion.

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"Shyness is only the effect of a sense of inferiority in some way or other.

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They would endeavor to supply the inferiority of population and resources by a more regular and effective system of defense, by disciplined troops, and by fortifications.

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Only when he thought of Miss Mackenzie there fell upon his mind a shadow of regret; that young lady was worthy of better things than plain John Nicholson, still known among schoolmates by the derisive name of 'Fatty'; and he felt, if he could chalk a cue, or stand at ease, with such a careless grace as Alan, he could approach the object of his sentiments with a less crushing sense of inferiority.

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How can Emma imagine she has any thing to learn herself, while Harriet is presenting such a delightful inferiority? And as for Harriet, I will venture to say that she cannot gain by the acquaintance.

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I was glad of it: I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons: dreadful to me was the coming home in the raw twilight, with nipped fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the chidings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed.

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He really believed, that were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger.

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For those were times when there was no rigid demarcation of rank between the farmer and the respectable artisan, and on the home hearth, as well as in the public house, they might be seen taking their jug of ale together; the farmer having a latent sense of capital, and of weight in parish affairs, which sustained him under his conspicuous inferiority in conversation.

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