Inferior

6 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Inferior \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}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. Lower in place, rank, value, excellence, etc.; less
        important or valuable; subordinate; underneath; beneath.


        [1913 Webster]
  
              A thousand inferior and particular propositions.
                                                    --I. Watts.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The body, or, as some love to call it, our inferior
              nature.                               --Burke.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Whether they are equal or inferior to my other
              poems, an author is the most improper judge.
                                                    --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Poor or mediocre; as, an inferior quality of goods.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     5. (Min.) Junior or subordinate in rank; as, an inferior
        officer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Inferior court} (Law), a court subject to the jurisdiction
        of another court known as the {superior court}, 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 A2, Bn, 2 and n are
        inferior characters.
  
     {Inferior tide}, the tide corresponding to the moon's transit
        of the meridian, when below the horizon.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Inferior \In*fe"ri*or\, n.
     A person lower in station, rank, intellect, etc., than
     another.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           A great person gets more by obliging his inferior than
           by disdaining him.                       --South.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  coarsened \coarsened\ adj.
     made coarse or crude by lack of skill; -- sometimes used to
     mean {inferior}.
     [WordNet 1.5]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  inferior
       adj 1: of or characteristic of low rank or importance [ant: {superior}]
       2: of low or inferior quality [ant: {superior}]
       3: inferior in rank or status; "the junior faculty"; "a lowly
          corporal"; "petty officialdom"; "a subordinate
          functionary" [syn: {junior-grade}, {lower}, {lower-ranking},
           {lowly}, {petty(a)}, {secondary}, {subaltern}, {subordinate}]
       4: written or printed below and to one side of another
          character [syn: {subscript}] [ant: {adscript}, {superscript}]
       5: having an orbit between the sun and the Earth's orbit;
          "Mercury and Venus are inferior planets" [ant: {superior}]
       6: lower than a given reference point; "inferior alveolar
          artery"
       7: falling short of some prescribed norm; "substandard housing"
          [syn: {deficient}, {substandard}]
       n 1: one of lesser rank or station or quality [ant: {superior}]
       2: a character or symbol set or printed or written beneath or
          slightly below and to the side of another character [syn:
          {subscript}] [ant: {superscript}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  217 Moby Thesaurus words for "inferior":
     Mickey Mouse, adherent, assistant, attendant, auxiliary, average,
     back-burner, bad, base, black, bootlicker, cheap, cheesy, client,
     coarse, cog, common, commonality, commonalty, crappy, creature,
     criminal, crummy, declasse, defective, deficient, demeaning,
     dependent, deputy, dinky, disadvantaged, disciple, dispensable,
     doormat, down, earlier, employee, evil, fair, feudal, feudatory,
     flunky, follower, fourth-class, gimcrack, good-for-nothing, hack,
     hanger-on, heeler, helper, henchman, hireling, hoi polloi, homager,
     humble, ill, immaterial, imperfect, improper, in the shade,
     inaccurate, inadequate, inappreciable, inauspicious, incapable,
     incapable of, incompetent, inconsequential, inconsiderable,
     indifferent, ineffective, inefficient, inept, inessential,
     inexpedient, infra dig, insignificant, insufficient, invalid,
     irregular, irrelevant, junior, junky, lackey, lacking, less,
     lesser, lickspittle, liege, liege man, lightweight, little, lousy,
     low, low-class, low-grade, low-priority, low-quality, low-test,
     lower, lower class, lower orders, lowest, lowly, malevolent,
     marginal, masses, mean, mediocre, menial, middling, minion, minor,
     minus, minute, modest, myrmidon, negligible, nether,
     no great shakes, no-account, no-good, nonessential, not vital,
     of no account, of no consequence, of no matter, of no significance,
     ordinary, paltry, pawn, peccant, peon, petit, poor, poor relation,
     punk, retainer, right-hand man, satellite, satrap, scrub,
     second fiddle, second rank, second string, second-best,
     second-class, second-rate, secondary, seedy, serf, servant,
     servile, shabby, shoddy, short, short of, sinful, sinister, slave,
     sleazy, small, sorry, stooge, sub, subaltern, subjacent, subject,
     subordinate, subservient, substandard, sycophant, tacky, tawdry,
     technical, third rank, third string, third stringer, third-class,
     third-rate, tinny, tributary, unable, unable to, under, underling,
     underprivileged, understrapper, unendowed, unessential,
     unfavorable, unfit, unfitted, ungifted, unhealthy, unimportant,
     unimpressive, unkind, unnoteworthy, unpleasant, unqualified,
     unreached, unskillful, untalented, untoward, unworthy, valueless,
     vassal, vicious, vulgar, wanting, wicked, worthless, wretched,
     wrong, yeoman, yes-man
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  INFERIOR. One who in relation to another has less power and is below him; 
  one who is bound to obey another. He who makes the law is the superior; he 
  who is bound to obey it, the inferior. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 8.