subordinate
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About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.1sub·or·di·nate
adjective \sə-ˈbȯr-də-nət, -ˈbȯrd-nət\Definition of SUBORDINATE
1
: placed in or occupying a lower class, rank, or position : inferior <a subordinate officer>
2
: submissive to or controlled by authority
3
a : of, relating to, or constituting a clause that functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb b : subordinating
— sub·or·di·nate·ly adverb
— sub·or·di·nate·ness noun
See Examples of SUBORDINATE
- <his contention is that environment plays a subordinate role to heredity in determining what we become>
- About two-thirds of the way through, this nonsense comes to life for fifteen minutes when the point of view shifts to that of a subordinate character, an aging thug (well played by Laurence Fishburne) who is employed by the casino to spot card counters. —Richard Alleva, Commonweal, May 9, 2008
- A reporter's right to protect a source is a subordinate matter that obfuscates the more important issue of violating journalistic integrity and responsibility when one becomes an agent, if not a pawn, of a mean-spirited and vindictive retaliation scheme. —Jon Duffey, Editor & Publisher, 13 Oct. 2003
- She was thirty-three, furiously frustrated with her subordinate role in the studio—attending to the model's hair, makeup, and clothes—and chronically dissatisfied with her own pictures, which represented a different kind of woman's work. —Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2003
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Origin of SUBORDINATE
Middle English subordinat, from Medieval Latin subordinatus, past participle of subordinare to subordinate, from Latin sub- + ordinare to order — more at ordain
First Known Use: 15th century
2sub·or·di·nate
noun \sə-ˈbȯr-də-nət, -ˈbȯrd-nət\Definition of SUBORDINATE
: one who stands in order or rank below another : one that is subordinate
Examples of SUBORDINATE
- She leaves the day-to-day running of the firm to her subordinates.
- <subordinates do most of the actual creation of the famous designer's clothing designs>
- Case in point: the dismissal of advertising chief Julie Roehm, accused of having an affair with a subordinate (also fired) and taking freebies from an advertising agency (also fired) in violation of company policies. —Bill Saporito, Time, 12 Nov. 2007
- He ran an extremely unhappy headquarters. He tended to berate subordinates, frequently shouting and cursing at them. —Thomas E. Ricks, Fiasco, 2006
- She also found it impossible to give negative feedback. As a consequence, her work and that of her subordinates started to suffer, and she was missing deadlines. —Steven Berglas, Harvard Business Review, June 2002
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Origin of SUBORDINATE
(see 1subordinate)
First Known Use: 1640
Rhymes with SUBORDINATE
abbreviate, abominate, accelerate, accentuate, accommodate, acculturate, accumulate, adjudicate, adulterate, affiliate, agglomerate, alienate, alleviate, alliterate, amalgamate, ameliorate, amyl nitrate, annihilate, annunciate, anticipate, apostolate, appreciate, appropriate, approximate, arpeggiate, articulate, asphyxiate, assassinate, asseverate, assimilate, associate, at any rate, attenuate, authenticate, barbiturate, bicarbonate, calumniate, capacitate, capitulate, catholicate, certificate, coagulate, coelenterate, collaborate, commemorate, commiserate, communicate, compassionate, concatenate, conciliate, confabulate, confederate, conglomerate, congratulate, consolidate, contaminate, cooperate, coordinate, corroborate, deactivate, debilitate, decapitate, decelerate, decerebrate, deconcentrate, deconsecrate, decorticate, decrepitate, de-escalate, defibrinate, defoliate, degenerate, deliberate, delineate, demodulate, denominate, depopulate, depreciate, deracinate, deregulate, desegregate, desiderate, detoxicate, devaluate, diaconate, dilapidate, discriminate, disintegrate, disseminate, dissimulate, dissociate, domesticate, effectuate, ejaculate, elaborate, electroplate, eliminate, elucidate, emaciate, emancipate, emasculate, encapsulate, enumerate, enunciate, episcopate, equivocate, eradicate, etiolate, evacuate, evaluate, evaporate, eventuate, eviscerate, exacerbate, exaggerate, exasperate, excited state, excogitate, excoriate, exfoliate, exhilarate, exonerate, expatiate, expatriate, expectorate, expostulate, expropriate, extenuate, exterminate, extrapolate, facilitate, felicitate, fish or cut bait, garrison state, gesticulate, habilitate, habituate, hallucinate, humiliate, hydrogenate, hypothecate, illuminate, impersonate, inactivate, inaugurate, incarcerate, incinerate, incorporate, incriminate, indoctrinate, inebriate, infatuate, infuriate, ingratiate, ingurgitate, initiate, inoculate, inseminate, insinuate, instantiate, intercalate, interpolate, interrelate, interrogate, intimidate, intoxicate, invalidate, investigate, invigorate, irradiate, Italianate, Korea Strait, lanceolate, legitimate, luxuriate, mandarinate, manipulate, matriarchate, matriculate, Merthiolate, necessitate, negotiate, noncandidate, obliterate, officiate, Orange Free State, orientate, originate, oxygenate, participate, particulate, patriarchate, patriciate, perambulate, peregrinate, perpetuate, pontificate, precipitate, predestinate, predominate, prefabricate, premeditate, preponderate, prevaricate, procrastinate, prognosticate, proliferate, propitiate, proportionate, quadruplicate, quintuplicate, reciprocate, recriminate, recuperate, redecorate, reduplicate, reeducate, refrigerate, regenerate, regurgitate, reincarnate, reintegrate, reiterate, rejuvenate, remunerate, repatriate, repudiate, resuscitate, retaliate, reticulate, revaluate, reverberate, scholasticate, second estate, self-flagellate, self-immolate, self-pollinate, seventy-eight, sextuplicate, Singapore Strait, sophisticate, substantiate, syllabicate, tergiversate, transliterate, triangulate, vanity plate, variegate, vaticinate, vituperate, vociferate
3sub·or·di·nate
transitive verb \sə-ˈbȯr-də-ˌnāt\sub·or·di·nat·edsub·or·di·nat·ing
Definition of SUBORDINATE
1
: to make subject or subservient
2
: to treat as of less value or importance <stylist … whose crystalline prose subordinates content to form — Susan Heath>
— sub·or·di·na·tion \-ˌbȯr-də-ˈnā-shən\ noun
— sub·or·di·na·tive \-ˈbȯr-də-ˌnā-tiv\ adjective
Examples of SUBORDINATE
- <it is one of the lessons of history that more powerful civilizations often subordinate weaker ones>
- Clinton administration Trade Representative Mickey Kantor declared: “The days when we could afford to subordinate our economic interests to foreign policy or defense concerns are long past.” —Lawrence F. Kaplan, New Republic, 18 Mar. 2002
- The real reason, though, is that art survives life, and this unpalatable realization lies behind the lumpen desire to subordinate the former to the latter. The finite always mistakes the permanent for the infinite and nurtures designs upon it. —Joseph Brodsky, Times Literary Supplement, 26 Oct. 1990
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Origin of SUBORDINATE
Medieval Latin subordinatus (see 1subordinate)
First Known Use: 1597
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