inferior
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- lower, lesser, menial, minor, secondary, subordinate, subsidiary
[noun]
Synonyms:
- underling, junior, menial, subordinate

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Antonyms: superior
Contrasted words: greater, higher, over, overlying, choice, excellent, first-class, first-rate, high-grade, prime, chief, head, leader, master, principal
Related Words: junior, minor, secondary, subaltern, subordinate, average, fair, indifferent, mediocre, middling, ordinary, bad, base, paltry, punk, shoddy, sleazy, sorry, tawdry, tin-pot, wretched, good-for-nothing, lousy, no-account, no-good, unworthy, valueless, worthless, attendant, auxiliary, deputy, retainer, satrap, subject, vassal, hanger-on, heeler, henchman, hireling, minion, satellite, sycophant, adherent, disciple, follower

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English Thesaurus: worse, inferior, not compare with something, not be in the same league, not be a patch on something/somebody, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. in‧fe‧ri‧or¹ /ɪnˈfɪəriə $ -ˈfɪriər/ adjective
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: 'lower', from inferus 'below']

1. not good, or not as good as someone or something else Antonym : superior:
I felt very inferior among all those academics.
wine of inferior quality
inferior goods
inferior to
I always felt slightly inferior to her.
Their performance was inferior to that of other teams.

2. formal lower in rank Antonym : superior:
an inferior court of law
He refused to accept a job of inferior status.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. inferior² noun [countable]
someone who has a lower position or rank than you in an organization Antonym : superior

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

inferior
adj.
VERBS be, feel, seem Her obvious popularity made me feel inferior.
consider sb/sth, regard sb/sth as, see sb/sth as Women are often regarded as inferior.
ADV. decidedly, distinctly, greatly, markedly, significantly, vastly, very | slightly, somewhat | demonstrably | instrinsically | intellectually, morally, socially, technically
PREP. in These later paintings are slightly inferior in value.
to His later work was vastly inferior to his early work.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

inferior
noun
ADJ. intellectual, social
VERB + INFERIOR consider sb She considered everyone her intellectual inferior.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

inferior

greatly inferior
Iron is greatly inferior to steel in many ways.
far inferior (=greatly inferior)
He easily defeated a far inferior opponent.
considerably inferior (=by quite a large amount)
They have the same number of points as the league leaders, but a considerably inferior goal difference.
vastly/grossly inferior (=by a very great amount)
The quality of service was vastly inferior in that other restaurant.
slightly inferior (also somewhat inferior formal)
I always felt slightly inferior to her.
markedly inferior (=in a way that is easy to notice)
Our equipment was markedly inferior to that of the enemy forces.
socially inferior
She felt socially inferior to her husband's wealthy friends.
morally inferior
Non-believers were considered morally inferior by people who adopted the new religion.
intellectually inferior
Students from working-class families were made to feel intellectually inferior.
intrinsically inferior (=inferior as part of its nature or character)
Recorded music is intrinsically inferior to the real thing.
feel inferior
Women are made to feel inferior by men's violence towards them.
consider somebody/something inferior
The poor are considered inferior by some people.
inferior quality
The poor soil produces wine of inferior quality.
an inferior position
He argued that capitalism requires some people to be kept in an inferior position in society.
inferior status formal (=an inferior position)
As a slave, he was aware of his inferior status.
inferior service
He wrote a letter to complain about inferior service at the hotel.
inferior goods/products
The public are being deceived into buying inferior goods.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

inferior
adjective
BAD: They still think that women are inferior than men.
GOOD: They still think that women are inferior to men.

Usage Note:
inferior/superior to (NOT than ): 'To suggest that women doctors are in some way inferior to their male counterparts is scandalous.' 'Why do they think they're so superior to the rest of us?'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

worse more unpleasant, bad, severe etc, or of a lower standard or quality:
Recent reports indicate that the situation is getting worse.
Your French is even worse than mine!
inferior of a lower standard or quality than something else, or less good than someone else:
Their wines are of inferior quality.
an inferior product
Trying to do things on the cheap only results in an inferior service.
not compare with something used to emphasize that someone or something is not nearly as good, big, or nice as someone or something else:
This recording just doesn’t compare with his early recordings.
Our sales this year do not compare with last year’s outstanding results.
not be in the same league informal used to emphasize that the standard of someone or something is not nearly as good as someone or something else:
He’s pretty good, but he’s not in the same league as his brother.
not be a patch on something/somebody British English informal use this to emphasize that something is not nearly as good as something else, especially something that came before it:
The film wasn’t a patch on the book.
He’s not a patch on Tarantino as an director.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲