Definitions for: Inferior


[n] a character or symbol set or printed or written beneath or slightly below and to the side of another character
[n] one of lesser rank or station or quality
[adj] inferior in rank or status; "the junior faculty"; "a lowly corporal"; "petty officialdom"; "a subordinate functionary"
[adj] falling short of some prescribed norm; "substandard housing"
[adj] of or characteristic of low rank or importance
[adj] of low or inferior quality
[adj] (astronomy) having an orbit between the sun and the Earth's orbit; "Mercury and Venus are inferior planets"
[adj] (printing) written or printed below and to one side of another character
[adj] (anatomy) lower than a given reference point; "inferior alveolar artery"



Webster (1913) Definition: 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.]
1. Lower in place, rank, excellence, etc.; less important or
valuable; subordinate; underneath; beneath.

A thousand inferior and particular propositions.
--I. Watts.

The body, or, as some love to call it, our inferior
nature. --Burke.

Whether they are equal or inferior to my other
poems, an author is the most improper judge.
--Dryden.

2. Poor or mediocre; as, an inferior quality of goods.

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.

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.

5. (Min.) Junior or subordinate in rank; as, an inferior
officer.

Inferior court (Law), a court subject to the jurisdiction
of another court known as the superior, 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 A_2, B_n, 2 and n
are inferior characters.

Inferior tide, the tide corresponding to the moon's transit
of the meridian, when below the horizon.


In*fe"ri*or, n.
A person lower in station, rank, intellect, etc., than
another.

A great person gets more by obliging his inferior than
by disdaining him. --South.

Synonyms: bad, base, bottom(a), bum, cardboard, cheap, cheapjack, cheesy, chintzy, coarse, coarsened, commercial, common, crummy, deficient, deplorable, execrable, flimsy, humble, indifferent, junior, junior-grade, less, low, lower, lower-ranking, low-grade, low-level, lowly, mediocre, middle-level, miserable, modest, nonstandard, outclassed, petty(a), poor, punk, ropey, ropy, scrawny, scrubby, secondary, second-class, second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, small, stunted, subaltern, subordinate, subscript, subscript, substandard, tawdry, third-rate, tinny, utility(a), utility-grade, woeful, wretched

Antonyms: adscript, higher-up, superior, superior, superior, superordinate, superscript, superscript

See Also: character, follower, grapheme, graphic symbol, worst

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