as in lesser
having not so great importance or rank as another
his contention is that environment plays a subordinate role to heredity in determining what we become
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in underling
one who is of lower rank and typically under the authority of another
subordinates do most of the actual creation of the famous designer's clothing designs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to subject
to bring under one's control by force of arms
it is one of the lessons of history that more powerful civilizations often subordinate weaker ones
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of subordinate
Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Indeed, allowing men but not women to have multiple spouses is clearly unequal and entwined with patriarchal ideology that positions women as subordinate or inferior to men.
—David W. Lawson, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2025
Arkansas Online, 24 Jan. 2026
Quarterbacks who have attained a certain status understandably don’t want to start over as subordinates, be assigned grunt work and wait in line for promotions.
—Dan Pompei, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Arie Perliger, The Conversation, 12 Dec. 2025
The past two generations of health care have been about gradual socialization of medicine, which has subordinated both patients and doctors to faceless bureaucrats and insurers.
—Kim-Lien Nguyen, Boston Herald, 29 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subordinate
Adjective
Yasuda ordered his subordinate, Lieutenant Colonel Tatsusaburo Suzuki, to prepare a report on the feasibility of a uranium project in Japan.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Indeed, allowing men but not women to have multiple spouses is clearly unequal and entwined with patriarchal ideology that positions women as subordinate or inferior to men.
—David W. Lawson, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2025
Noun
The Labor Department inspector general's office has interviewed staff in connection with the investigation, which followed a complaint that Chavez-DeRemer was having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate and abusing her office.
—Arkansas Online, 24 Jan. 2026
Quarterbacks who have attained a certain status understandably don’t want to start over as subordinates, be assigned grunt work and wait in line for promotions.
—Dan Pompei, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Verb
Similarly, plans to subordinate the West Bank Border Police to Ben-Gvir’s Ministry of National Security threaten to dismantle the unified command structure that has been instrumental in managing tensions in the occupied West Bank since 1967.
—Arie Perliger, The Conversation, 12 Dec. 2025
The past two generations of health care have been about gradual socialization of medicine, which has subordinated both patients and doctors to faceless bureaucrats and insurers.
—Kim-Lien Nguyen, Boston Herald, 29 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subordinate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subordinate
Adjective
-
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
-
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
Noun
-
Perhaps Rose was a decoy wife, so people in the Vault didn’t catch on to whatever mysterious plans Hank and Stephanie had for their underlings.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
4 Feb. 2026
-
In nondemocratic regimes, senior officials wall themselves off from reality because their underlings are afraid to deliver bad news.—
Donald Moynihan,
The Atlantic,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Between 1995 and 2015, both publications—which have a combined circulation of some eighty thousand Canadian family doctors and pharmacists—regularly ran columns from the Motherisk team without subjecting them to peer review.—
Ben Taub,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
-
While the Jacksonian program helped produce a massive depression, the Jacksonians’ intention was to accelerate capitalism by democratizing it, not to tame it by subjecting it to government planning.—
Walter Russell Mead,
The Atlantic,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
In that sense, wetware computing is less about building artificial brains and more about widening the set of tools available to computation itself.—
Matthew S Williams,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Even with that success, two less-than-stellar seasons in 2022 and 2023 were all Titans leadership needed to show Vrabel the door, firing him after a 6-11 season to mild astonishment from around the league.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Krasny started racing the Enduro World Cup circuit as a junior in 2019, and, after proving himself as an elite rider, decided to pursue his own goals.—
Dennis Lewon,
Outside,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Last year as a junior, Spell missed five games but still rushed for 1,755 yards and 28 touchdowns.—
Mike Darnay,
CBS News,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The rival bids have drawn scrutiny from antitrust experts and lawmakers, who worry that either death could reduce competition in an entertainment industry already dominated by streaming giants.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Feb. 2026
-
It’s speculated that a runaway greenhouse effect took place on Venus long ago, leading to its dense, thick, hot atmosphere, dominated by carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid clouds.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The last Winter Olympics, held in Beijing during COVID, were subdued.—
Pien Huang,
NPR,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Fans in the arena have been fairly subdued, but an in-house DJ has made a steady stream of dance hits the day’s soundtrack.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
Lower gas demand amid increasing supply has led to lower pump prices.—
Frank Witsil,
Detroit Free Press,
19 June 2023
Cite this Entry
“Subordinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subordinate. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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