subordinate

1 of 3

adjective

sub·​or·​di·​nate sə-ˈbȯr-də-nət How to pronounce subordinate (audio)
-ˈbȯrd-nət
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
subordinately adverb
subordinateness noun

subordinate

2 of 3

noun

sub·​or·​di·​nate sə-ˈbȯr-də-nət How to pronounce subordinate (audio)
-ˈbȯrd-nət
: one who stands in order or rank below another : one that is subordinate

subordinate

3 of 3

verb

sub·​or·​di·​nate sə-ˈbȯr-də-ˌnāt How to pronounce subordinate (audio)
subordinated; subordinating

transitive verb

1
: to make subject or subservient
2
: to treat as of less value or importance
stylist … whose crystalline prose subordinates content to formSusan Heath
subordinative adjective

Examples of subordinate in a Sentence

Adjective 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
his contention is that environment plays a subordinate role to heredity in determining what we become Noun 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
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 Verb 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
it is one of the lessons of history that more powerful civilizations often subordinate weaker ones
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
In art, as in media of all kinds, Black women have often been either represented as subordinate, like Olympia’s maid, or as a dignified heroine (and in Hollywood movies, usually a little of both). M.h. Miller, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2024 These women all held subordinate positions at the network. Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2024 The women’s game is treated as subordinate to the men’s game, and women have little or no power, voice or influence within cricket’s decision-making structures. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 27 June 2023 The technology is far from being able to decide on and then plan out the goals and subordinate goals necessary for shutting down traffic in order to get you a seat in a restaurant, or blowing up a car factory in order to satisfy your itch for paper clips. Nir Eisikovits, Fortune, 7 July 2023 The company made no mention in its earnings report of issues at NBCUniversal, where former CEO Jeff Shell was ousted over the weekend after Comcast investigated allegations of an inappropriate relationship between Shell and a subordinate employee. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 27 Apr. 2023 All of your other decisions are subordinate to that. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Feb. 2024 In action films, generally speaking, everything is subordinate to the plot. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 2 Feb. 2024 And because relations between major powers are multidimensional, a country can have the advantage in one area while being subordinate in another. Joshua Shifrinson, Foreign Affairs, 17 Oct. 2023
Noun
Peltz’s ally, Perlmutter, had held a grudge against Iger ever since Iger intervened a decade ago to keep Perlmutter from firing his subordinate, Kevin Feige, the creative mastermind behind the Marvel movies. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024 His removal came as a result of an investigation that found multiple instances of misconduct involving ethical violations and maltreatment of subordinates, according to a statement from California Military Department spokesman Lt. Col. Brandon Hill. Andrew Sheeler, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024 The training may also involve police and military leaders training their subordinates on how to safely store a firearm either in their homes or using outside storage facilities. Sara Novak, Scientific American, 6 Nov. 2023 The women believed Telles was having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate in the office named Roberta. Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2024 While Trump flattered Putin, his subordinates imposed Magnitsky Act sanctions on Russian officials. Noah Rothman, National Review, 2 Feb. 2024 Justice Ginsburg found that Mr. Connick’s subordinates systematically hid evidence that could aid the defense, in violation of the Constitution. Adam Nossiter, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2024 Instead of encouraging advice, asking for input or showing humility, toxic bosses are notorious for ruling with an iron fist, using intimidation as a defense against their own insecurities or unwittingly undermining subordinates to reinforce their own, more powerful position. Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2024 As Shen explains, leadership roles depend on a leader’s ability to broker alliances, converse with peers and subordinates, and amass respect—all of which are social interactions prone to racial bias. Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2024
Verb
As for his postwar plan for Gaza, Netanyahu offered a laconic mixture of counter-insurgency and Greater Israel fantasies, to which the hostages’ lives seem subordinated. Bernard Avishai, The New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2024 These norms, of an open society, seemed especially urgent to convey in a class about places where individual freedoms are routinely subordinated to religious or tribal solidarity. Bernard Avishai, The New Yorker, 2 Feb. 2024 Over time, Harvard, like many other universities, has allowed the core academic mission of research, intellectual inquiry, and teaching to be subordinated to other values that, though important, should never have been allowed to work against it. Jeannie Suk Gersen, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2024 And no one can hope to rise in the ranks without subordinating his interests to those of others. Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 27 Dec. 2023 Which is a hard case to make in public without disclosing your mistrust of those voters and your preference for having the decisions of a national electorate subordinated to the decisions of local juries in deep-blue cities. Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 19 Dec. 2023 Hetrick argues that Stevens’ memory was unfairly subordinated to that of Abraham Lincoln’s. Tracy Schorn, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Dec. 2023 When that candidate arrives, politics will become much tougher for the GOP — at which point, one suspects, the Republicans might start to regret having spent most of the previous decade subordinating every single one of their concerns to the maintenance of Donald Trump’s ego. Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 19 Dec. 2023 Conflating these terms, which was done numerous times through the pandemic, will only further subordinate public health to health care and not address root problems in the system. Torie Bosch, STAT, 2 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'subordinate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Middle English subordinat, from Medieval Latin subordinatus, past participle of subordinare to subordinate, from Latin sub- + ordinare to order — more at ordain

Verb

Medieval Latin subordinatus — see subordinate entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1640, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of subordinate was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near subordinate

Cite this Entry

“Subordinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subordinate. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

subordinate

1 of 3 adjective
sub·​or·​di·​nate sə-ˈbȯrd-ᵊn-ət How to pronounce subordinate (audio)
-ˈbȯrd-nət
1
: placed in or occupying a lower class or rank
a subordinate officer
2
: yielding to or controlled by authority
3
a
: of, relating to, or being a clause that functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb
subordinately adverb
subordinateness noun

subordinate

2 of 3 noun
: one that is subordinate

subordinate

3 of 3 verb
sub·​or·​di·​nate sə-ˈbȯrd-ᵊn-ˌāt How to pronounce subordinate (audio)
subordinated; subordinating
: to make subordinate
subordination noun
subordinative adjective

Legal Definition

subordinate

1 of 2 adjective
sub·​or·​di·​nate sə-ˈbȯrd-ᵊn-ət How to pronounce subordinate (audio)
1
: placed in or occupying a lower rank, class, or position
2
: submissive to or controlled by authority

subordinate

2 of 2 transitive verb
sub·​or·​di·​nate sə-ˈbȯrd-ᵊn-ˌāt How to pronounce subordinate (audio)
subordinated; subordinating
: to assign lower priority to (as a debt or creditor) : postpone satisfaction of until after satisfaction of another
the equitable assignee will be subordinated to the rights of the assignor's trustee in bankruptcyJ. D. Calamari and J. M. Perillo

More from Merriam-Webster on subordinate

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