Inferior
[ɪn'fɪərɪə] or [ɪn'fɪrɪɚ]
Definition
(noun.) one of lesser rank or station or quality.
(adj.) of or characteristic of low rank or importance .
(adj.) of low or inferior quality .
(adj.) having an orbit between the sun and the Earth's orbit; 'Mercury and Venus are inferior planets' .
(adj.) lower than a given reference point; 'inferior alveolar artery' .
Typed by Freddie--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Lower in place, rank, excellence, etc.; less important or valuable; subordinate; underneath; beneath.
(a.) Poor or mediocre; as, an inferior quality of goods.
(a.) Nearer the sun than the earth is; as, the inferior or interior planets; an inferior conjunction of Mercury or Venus.
(a.) Below the horizon; as, the inferior part of a meridian.
(a.) 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.
(a.) On the side of a flower which is next the bract; anterior.
(a.) Junior or subordinate in rank; as, an inferior officer.
(n.) A person lower in station, rank, intellect, etc., than another.
Editor: Nicolas
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Lower.[2]. Subordinate, secondary.[3]. Poor, indifferent.
Typist: Vance
Definition
adj. lower in any respect: subordinate: secondary.—n. one lower in rank or station: one younger than another.—n. Inferior′ity the state of being inferior: a lower position in any respect.—adv. Infē′riorly in an inferior manner.
Checked by Bryant
Examples
- I should like to know in what I'm your inferior? William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- In the inferior employments, the sweets of labour consist altogether in the recompence of labour. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Although the beak is thus very inferior as a sifter to that of a shoveller, yet this bird, as every one knows, constantly uses it for this purpose. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- The inferior ranks of people must, in that country, suffer patiently the usage which their superiors think proper to give them. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- But this complement may be much inferior to what, with other laws and institutions, the nature of its soil, climate, and situation, might admit of. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- The judgment of a fool is the judgment of another person, as well as that of a wise man, and is only inferior in its influence on our own judgment. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- If the stamp is of an inferior price to what the testator ought to have made use of, his succession is confiscated. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Every particle of air, therefore, will bear any load inferior to the force of these repulsions. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- The high price of such commodities does not necessarily diminish the ability of the inferior ranks of people to bring up families. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- He smelt it--tasted it--smiled benignantly--then said: It is inferior--for coffee--but it is pretty fair tea. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- My pride rose against this barefaced way of pointing out the contrast my married life was to present to my then dependent and inferior position. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Miss Ingram was a mark beneath jealousy: she was too inferior to excite the feeling. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- She loves him--not with inferior feelings. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- The same may be said of the passionate element:--the desires of the ambitious soul, as well as of the covetous, have an inferior satisfaction. Plato. The Republic.
- Then would the inferior Barnacles exclaim, obeying orders, 'Hear, Hear, Hear! Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- I am not ignorant that old Mr. Ablewhite has the reputation generally (especially among his inferiors) of being a remarkably good-natured man. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- They hated their inferiors' humility or gratitude or awkwardness. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- She had so many half inferiors, whom she tolerated with perfect good-humour. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- I ventured to say, My lady, we must all remember not to be hasty in our judgments on our inferiors--especially when they come from foreign parts. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- The pride of man makes him love to domineer, and nothing mortifies him so much as to be obliged to condescend to persuade his inferiors. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- A man of property owes a duty to other men of property, and must look sharp after his inferiors. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- You find it easy to speak comfortably to your inferiors; you are too haughty, too ambitious, too jealous to be civil to those above you. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Then they moved off, as if they had been dismissed like inferiors. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Shall the daughter of the noble, though prodigal Zaimi, appear a beggar before her compeers or inferiors--superiors she had none. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
Editor: Rebekah