sub·or·di·nate
(sə-bôr′dn-ĭt)adj.1. Belonging to a lower or inferior class or rank; secondary.
2. Subject to the authority or control of another.
n. One that is subordinate.
tr.v. (sə-bôr′dn-āt′) sub·or·di·nat·ed,
sub·or·di·nat·ing,
sub·or·di·nates 1. To put in a lower or inferior rank or class.
2. To make subservient; subdue.
[Middle English
subordinat, from Medieval Latin
subōrdinātus, past participle of
subōrdināre,
to put in a lower rank : Latin
sub-,
sub- + Latin
ōrdināre,
to set in order (from
ōrdō, ōrdin-,
order; see
ar- in
Indo-European roots).]
sub·or′di·nate·ly adv.
sub·or′di·nate·ness, sub·or′di·na′tion (-nā′shən) n.
sub·or′di·na′tive (-nə′tĭv) adj.
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:
| Adj. | 1. | subordinating - serving to connect a subordinate clause to a main clause; "`when' in `I will come when I can' is a subordinating conjunction"grammar - the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics) coordinating, coordinative - serving to connect two grammatical constituents of identical construction; "`and' in `John and Mary' or in `John walked and Mary rode' is a coordinating conjunction; and so is `or' in `will you go or stay?'" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
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