inferior
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Inferior \In*fe"ri*or\, a. [L., compar. of inferus that is
below, underneath, the lower; akin to E. under: cf. F.
inf['e]rieur. See {Under}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. Lower in place, rank, value, excellence, etc.; less
important or valuable; subordinate; underneath; beneath.
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A thousand inferior and particular propositions.
--I. Watts.
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The body, or, as some love to call it, our inferior
nature. --Burke.
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Whether they are equal or inferior to my other
poems, an author is the most improper judge.
--Dryden.
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2. Poor or mediocre; as, an inferior quality of goods.
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3. (Astron.)
(a) Nearer the sun than the earth is; as, the inferior or
interior planets; an inferior conjunction of Mercury
or Venus.
(b) Below the horizon; as, the inferior part of a
meridian.
[1913 Webster]
4. (Bot.)
(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.
(b) On the side of a flower which is next the bract;
anterior.
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5. (Min.) Junior or subordinate in rank; as, an inferior
officer.
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{Inferior court} (Law), a court subject to the jurisdiction
of another court known as the {superior court}, or {higher
court}.
{Inferior letter}, {Inferior figure} (Print.), a small letter
or figure standing at the bottom of the line (opposed to
{superior letter} or figure), as in A2, Bn, 2 and n are
inferior characters.
{Inferior tide}, the tide corresponding to the moon's transit
of the meridian, when below the horizon.
[1913 Webster]
from
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
INFERIOR. One who in relation to another has less power and is below him;
one who is bound to obey another. He who makes the law is the superior; he
who is bound to obey it, the inferior. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 8.
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
217 Moby Thesaurus words for "inferior":
Mickey Mouse, adherent, assistant, attendant, auxiliary, average,
back-burner, bad, base, black, bootlicker, cheap, cheesy, client,
coarse, cog, common, commonality, commonalty, crappy, creature,
criminal, crummy, declasse, defective, deficient, demeaning,
dependent, deputy, dinky, disadvantaged, disciple, dispensable,
doormat, down, earlier, employee, evil, fair, feudal, feudatory,
flunky, follower, fourth-class, gimcrack, good-for-nothing, hack,
hanger-on, heeler, helper, henchman, hireling, hoi polloi, homager,
humble, ill, immaterial, imperfect, improper, in the shade,
inaccurate, inadequate, inappreciable, inauspicious, incapable,
incapable of, incompetent, inconsequential, inconsiderable,
indifferent, ineffective, inefficient, inept, inessential,
inexpedient, infra dig, insignificant, insufficient, invalid,
irregular, irrelevant, junior, junky, lackey, lacking, less,
lesser, lickspittle, liege, liege man, lightweight, little, lousy,
low, low-class, low-grade, low-priority, low-quality, low-test,
lower, lower class, lower orders, lowest, lowly, malevolent,
marginal, masses, mean, mediocre, menial, middling, minion, minor,
minus, minute, modest, myrmidon, negligible, nether,
no great shakes, no-account, no-good, nonessential, not vital,
of no account, of no consequence, of no matter, of no significance,
ordinary, paltry, pawn, peccant, peon, petit, poor, poor relation,
punk, retainer, right-hand man, satellite, satrap, scrub,
second fiddle, second rank, second string, second-best,
second-class, second-rate, secondary, seedy, serf, servant,
servile, shabby, shoddy, short, short of, sinful, sinister, slave,
sleazy, small, sorry, stooge, sub, subaltern, subjacent, subject,
subordinate, subservient, substandard, sycophant, tacky, tawdry,
technical, third rank, third string, third stringer, third-class,
third-rate, tinny, tributary, unable, unable to, under, underling,
underprivileged, understrapper, unendowed, unessential,
unfavorable, unfit, unfitted, ungifted, unhealthy, unimportant,
unimpressive, unkind, unnoteworthy, unpleasant, unqualified,
unreached, unskillful, untalented, untoward, unworthy, valueless,
vassal, vicious, vulgar, wanting, wicked, worthless, wretched,
wrong, yeoman, yes-man
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