| / English Dictionary |
INFERIOR
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A character or symbol set or printed or written beneath or slightly below and to the side of another character
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("inferior" is a kind of...):
character; graph; grapheme; graphic symbol (a written symbol that is used to represent speech)
Sense 2
Meaning:
One of lesser rank or station or quality
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("inferior" is a kind of...):
follower (a person who accepts the leadership of another)
Antonym:
superior (one of greater rank or station or quality)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Falling short of some prescribed norm
Example:
substandard housing
Synonyms:
deficient; inferior; substandard
Classified under:
Similar:
nonstandard (varying from or not adhering to a standard)
Derivation:
inferiority (the state of being inferior)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Of or characteristic of low rank or importance
Classified under:
Similar:
outclassed (decisively surpassed by something else so as to appear to be of a lower class)
middle-level (intermediate in rank or position)
low-level (at a low level in rank or importance)
indifferent (fairly poor to not very good)
humble; low; lowly; modest; small (low or inferior in station or quality)
Also:
low (less than normal in degree or intensity or amount)
low (literal meanings; being at or having a relatively small elevation or upward extension)
low-level; subordinate (lower in rank or importance)
Antonym:
superior (of or characteristic of high rank or importance)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Of low or inferior quality
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
utility; utility-grade (used of beef; usable but inferior)
third-rate (of lesser quality than second-rate)
second-class (of inferior status or quality)
scrawny; scrubby; stunted (inferior in size or quality)
ropey; ropy ((British informal) very poor in quality)
mediocre; second-rate (moderate to inferior in quality)
low-grade (of inferior quality)
less ((usually preceded by 'no') lower in quality)
deplorable; execrable; miserable; woeful; wretched (of very poor quality or condition)
commercial; commercial-grade (of the kind or quality used in commerce; average or inferior)
coarsened (made coarse or crude by lack of skill)
coarse; common (of low or inferior quality or value)
cheapjack; shoddy; tawdry (made of inferior workmanship and materials)
bush; bush-league (not of the highest quality or sophistication)
bum; cheap; cheesy; chintzy; crummy; punk; sleazy; tinny (of very poor quality; flimsy)
base ((used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal)
bad (below average in quality or performance)
Also:
worst ((superlative of 'bad') most wanting in quality or value or condition)
Attribute:
caliber; calibre; quality (a degree or grade of excellence or worth)
Antonym:
superior (of high or superior quality or performance)
Derivation:
inferiority (an inferior quality)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Having an orbit between the sun and the Earth's orbit
Example:
Mercury and Venus are inferior planets
Classified under:
Adjectives
Domain category:
astronomy; uranology (the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole)
Antonym:
superior (having an orbit farther from the sun than the Earth's orbit)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Written or printed below and to one side of another character
Synonyms:
inferior; subscript
Classified under:
Adjectives
Domain category:
printing; printing process (reproduction by applying ink to paper as for publication)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Lower than a given reference point
Example:
inferior alveolar artery
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
bottom (situated at the bottom or lowest position)
Domain category:
anatomy; general anatomy (the branch of morphology that deals with the structure of animals)
Context examples:
Miss Ingram was a mark beneath jealousy: she was too inferior to excite the feeling.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Multiple P waves typically appear in the inferior leads in a saw tooth-like pattern between the QRS complexes.
(Atrial Flutter, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)
Multiple P waves typically appear in the inferior leads in a saw tooth like pattern between the QRS complexes.
(Atrial Flutter by ECG Finding, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)
The inferior surface of the brain as viewed from below.
(Base of the Brain, NCI Thesaurus)
His two other children were of very inferior value.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
The right atrium receives venous deoxygenated blood from the entire body via the superior and inferior vena cavae and pumps blood into the right ventricle.
(Cardiac Atrium, NCI Thesaurus)
The inferior region of the skull consisting of an internal (cerebral), and an external (basilar) surface.
(Base of the Skull, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
Wealth was an inferior object, but what glory would attend the discovery if I could banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
In anticipating the happiness of Bingley, which of course was to be inferior only to his own, he continued the conversation till they reached the house.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
It corresponds to the inferior part of the lower third topographic segment of the esophagus.
(Abdominal Esophagus, NCI Thesaurus)
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