as in subordinate
one who is of lower rank and typically under the authority of another
she is nice to her inferiors as well as to her superiors
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in lower
situated lower down
creatures that inhabit the dark, inferior depths of the ocean
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2
as in minor
of little or less value or merit
a girl who has always felt inferior to her older sister
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3
as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
at one time, the upper crust liked to believe that inferior people were fit only to be servants
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4
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
an inferior science textbook that was out-of-date the day that it was published
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5
as in lesser
having not so great importance or rank as another
an inferior officer cannot strike a superior under any circumstances
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6
as in poor
of low quality
inferior chocolate candy that no serious chocolate lover would think of eating
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inferior
Nino Paoli, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2025
More to Explore By documenting lushly hirsute Japanese officials alongside their beardless counterparts, portraiture preserved a photographic record of colonial subjects’ visibly inferior status.
—H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 13 Sep. 2025
As with many imitations, attempting to replicate something often results in an inferior copy.
—Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
Rewatching is its own cultural activity, not necessarily inferior or redundant.
—Julie Hinds, Freep.com, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inferior
Adjective
But compared to the vast amount of data available to open-source models, in-house applications will always have inferior answers, Emmert said.
—Nino Paoli, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2025
More to Explore By documenting lushly hirsute Japanese officials alongside their beardless counterparts, portraiture preserved a photographic record of colonial subjects’ visibly inferior status.
—H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 13 Sep. 2025
As with many imitations, attempting to replicate something often results in an inferior copy.
—Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
Rewatching is its own cultural activity, not necessarily inferior or redundant.
—Julie Hinds, Freep.com, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inferior
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inferior
Noun
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The third-term sheriff is accused of repeatedly harassing his female subordinates and threatening his chief deputy to keep it quiet.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Oct. 2025
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For instance, Gilbert was into extreme weather, Kelly said, and had subordinates brief him on terms such as bombogenesis.—
Stefan Fatsis,
The Atlantic,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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And ultimately, the Supreme Court overruled those lower court rulings and did declare the embryos as children qualifying under the wrongful death statute.—
Dana Taylor,
USA TODAY,
1 Mar. 2024
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Lower gas demand amid increasing supply has led to lower pump prices.—
Frank Witsil,
Detroit Free Press,
19 June 2023
Adjective
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Russell’s crash in 2023 showed that a minor mistake can wipe you off the podium.—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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In susceptible people, the immune system reacts too strongly to minor exposures, creating chronic inflammation.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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For instance, if both people are eligible but one earned more, collect the lower amount first to have some cash.—
Medora Lee,
USA Today,
5 Oct. 2025
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Tire tread depth - Checking your tire tread before hitting the road is important, as low or no tread can lead to sliding.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Violence anywhere, especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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Other Republicans — especially in the House — see it as an unacceptable expansion of President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, which Republicans have tried to eliminate or cut back since it was enacted 15 years ago.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Even lesser-scale incidents like the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal and the Volkswagen emissions scandal erode trust in the institutions that help make our society possible and push it forward.—
Lindsey Witmer Collins,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Toronto’s Fred VanVleet appears to be the top target, but Miami’s Kyle Lowry, Utah’s Mike Conley and, perhaps to a lesser extent, Charlotte’s Terry Rozier have been linked to the team at various points.—
Staff Writer
Follow,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2023
Adjective
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Similar protests occurred in Brazil over steep living costs and poor healthcare and education ahead of the country hosting the 2014 World Cup tournament.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
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Over time, dysfunctional breathing reinforces poor posture and scapular instability.—
Dana Santas,
CNN Money,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Even its most mean-spirited plotline, in which a married couple assemble a fake theater production to humiliate their ex-neighbor whose noisiness prompted them to move, is presented as more of a gentle exercise in silliness than anything truly vindictive.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
3 Oct. 2025
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Married Zack Goytowski and Bliss Poureetezadi had one of the stranger journeys on Love Is Blind, mainly because Zack initially broke up with Bliss in favor of Irina Solomonova, who proved herself to be perhaps the meanest contestant in the show's history.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inferior.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inferior. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.
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