inferior
/ĭn-fîr′ē-ər/
adjective
- Low or lower in order, degree, or rank. Captain is an inferior rank to major.
- Low or lower in quality, value, or estimation. inferior craft; felt inferior to his older sibling.
- Second-rate; poor. an inferior translation.
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Inferiority_complex
Inferiority complex - Wikipedia
October 28, 2025 - According to the Cambridge Dictionary of Psychology, "[i]n Adlerian psychology, a combination of an erroneous belief of an individual that they are unable to cope with some aspect of life because of a real or imagined physical or psychological deficiency, feelings of depression, and a cessation of coping efforts in that area". In another sense "A general term for a personal sense of inferiority".
an intense feeling of inferiority
Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › english › inferior
INFERIOR | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
INFERIOR definition: 1. not good, or not as good as someone or something else: 2. lower, or of lower rank: 3. of the…. Learn more.
Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › dictionary › inferior
INFERIOR Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
: an inferior person or thing · inferior adjective · in·fe·ri·or in-ˈfir-ē-ər · 1 · : situated below and closer to the feet than another and especially another similar part of an upright body especially of a human being compare superior sense 1 ·
Videos
24:57
How to Stop Feeling Inferior: Set Good Boundaries pt. 6 - YouTube
06:24
Why You Feel Inferior (And What To Do About It) - YouTube
06:32
3 Reasons You Feel Inferior (And What To Do About It!) - YouTube
12:45
Psychological Tricks People Use To Make You Feel Inferior - YouTube
Collins Dictionary
collinsdictionary.com › dictionary › english › inferior
INFERIOR definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
If children were made to feel inferior to other children their confidence declined. [+ to] ... If one person is regarded as inferior to another, they are regarded as less important because they have less status or ability.
Published December 20, 2017
Vocabulary.com
vocabulary.com › dictionary › inferior
Inferior - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com
The word inferior can also be used as a noun to mean "a person who is lower in rank or status," in which case you might say to your younger brother, "You are my inferior, therefore you should take out the trash."
Reddit
reddit.com › r/englishlearning › calling a person an "inferior"
r/EnglishLearning on Reddit: Calling a person an "inferior"
June 1, 2024 -
Is it okay to call someone an "inferior" in official setting? For example, we often say that the boss is our superior. So if a person's working under me, can I call them "an inferior" or "my inferior"?
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"inferior" has some negative connotations. I would avoid it. "Subordinate" or "report" might be all right in some contexts,. When in doubt, reframe the sentence and describe yourself as their manager.
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It's OK to call someone an inferior if your aim is to alienate that person and make them hate you and never value a single thing you say ever again.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/selfimprovement › what to do if you are objectively inferior to others?
r/selfimprovement on Reddit: What to do if you are OBJECTIVELY inferior to others?
September 5, 2022 -
This isn't about feeling inferior or self-hate.
This is about being OBJECTIVELY inferior to others. You don't just feel inferior, you ARE indeed inferior by objective, factual standards. You REALLY have below average IQ, grades, and you are indeed out-of-shape, unsociable, etc.
While this is NOT me, what you can do to improve yourself if you are objectively inferior to others and your self-hate is the actual, objective truth rather than just a horrible feeling?
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Despite feeling this is an objective view, it still isnt. Its all subjective. Maybe someone had higher grades than me, in better shape, better socially etc. There will still be at least one thing i would be more capable of than the person. Maybe im a better listener, maybe a deep thinker, maybe a caring person. Maybe i have a hobby the other person knows nothing about/would fail at if they tried. So it is indeed still subjective. And self hate is a subjective view as well. If it was objective, then every human being in the world would agree that the person deserves to hate themselves. Which we know is not possible for all 7 billion people on earth to think that. And as such, its still just a feeling that can be changed.
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Even if that’s true for the things you can’t change (you listed some invalid things that you can change), why does that matter? The key is to rationally figure out the values necessary for you, as an individual, to live and judge yourself according to your achievement of those values and your capacity to achieve those values. You have to distinguish between what’s your best or what’s the best you can be at living as opposed to what’s the best that man can be at living or at something else in general.
YourDictionary
yourdictionary.com › home › dictionary meanings › inferior definition
Inferior Definition & Meaning | YourDictionary
A person lower in rank, status, or accomplishment than another. ... An inferior character, such as the number 2 in CO2.
Dictionary.com
dictionary.com › browse › inferior
INFERIOR Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
Inferior most commonly means lesser or lower in quality or worth.Inferior is commonly applied to things that are considered not as good as other similar things, especially products.
Thesaurus.com
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838 Synonyms & Antonyms for INFERIOR | Thesaurus.com
Find 838 different ways to say INFERIOR, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com.
Social Confidence Center
socialconfidencecenter.com › blog › why-you-feel-inferior-and-what-to-do-about-it
Why You Feel Inferior (And What To Do About It)
If you allow it to, it becomes part of the background of your existence; therefore, you feel you might just take it as a fundamental state of reality. This is how it is. Of course, I feel inferior because I am inferior. But let's examine that notion for a minute. You say this person is more valuable than I am, but they're more worthy than I am.
Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › thesaurus › inferior
INFERIOR Synonyms: 330 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster Thesaurus
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
Urban Dictionary
urbandictionary.com › define.php
Urban Dictionary: inferior
adj. Low or lower in order, degree, or rank n. A person lower in rank, status, or accomplishment than another. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Quora
quora.com › What-does-inferior-mean
What does 'inferior' mean? - Quora
Answer (1 of 13): I don’t. Honestly I have never thought of anyone as “inferior” other than myself. Inferior is what I relate to being a defect of a human being. These are all ideas my parents repeated like a mantra 24/7 until I escaped for good at 16. This was combined with heavy spontaneous ...
Collins Dictionary
collinsdictionary.com › us › dictionary › english-thesaurus › inferior
Synonyms of INFERIOR | Collins American English Thesaurus
a person inferior to another, esp. in rank · He was too proud to conceal his opinions from those he considered his inferiors. Synonyms · underling (derogatory) underlings who do the dirty work · junior · subordinate · Her subordinates respected ...
Encyclopedia Britannica
britannica.com › dictionary › inferior
Inferior Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary
INFERIOR meaning: 1 : of poor quality low or lower in quality often + to; 2 : of little or less importance or value often + to
Reddit
reddit.com › r/healthygamergg › how to cope with being inferior to others?
r/Healthygamergg on Reddit: How to cope with being inferior to others?
August 31, 2022 -
I am inferior to other people and I know it. I am slower at cognitive functions (it takes me more time to realize something/articulate thoughts/react to something). Sometimes realization comes hours later, when other people need only minutes or seconds. In addition, I am slower at work and I am incredibly clumsy.
People often say about me that I look like the light is on but nobody's home. I often make silly mistakes and have to double check on everything I do. And others notice these weaknesses of mine (they are very noticeable). They often make comments about my lower intelligence and sometimes make fun of me. And I can't even get mad at them for it because they're right. I make many more mistakes than others and take my goddamned time to do something right. When people get angry at me or put me down, it's never without good reason. And I have no one to blame me but myself.
I work a manual part time job. I've been there for two years and I'm still not getting better at it. To be honest, I'm pretty bad at it. However, I haven't finished the university (not even the fourth attempt) so I can't be picky about jobs. It's a miracle I've got one in the first place.
The worst thing is there is nothing that can be done about low intelligence. Once you're born with it, you stay like that for the rest of your life. I get angry at myself for it. I am angry most of the time. I cope by playing video games. I dedicate them all of my free time. When I'm not at work, I shut myself in my room to at least temporarily forget about my inferiority. I know it's not a solution. But if I weren't addicted to video games, I would be addicted to something else, alcohol or drugs. Or I would end myself.
This is not inferiority complex. The inferiority is real. I am worse than other people. The question is: How do you cope with knowing that you are worse than others? Without all the hatred, without addictions? How do you cope with people judging you for your weaknesses? Can you make friends knowing you will never be equals?
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"I am inferior to other people. When people get angry at me or put me down, it's never without good reason. I am worse than other people." Notice how you're speaking about yourself. Your thoughts are doing far more damage to you than the jobs you've worked or the comments made by others because what you think about yourself manifests into the outside world through what you say and do. For example, your abusive thoughts are telling you that you're inferior to others, so the second you make a mistake the brains says: "See, the thoughts are right" and it becomes reinforced into the other things you do, regardless of validity. This is a killer of confidence. I do understand where you're coming from. I was fired or ghosted from every fast food job I've ever had because I made mistakes on almost every order. My co-workers hated working with me. Customers would get angry, yell in my face, and insult my intelligence. I would freeze up and panic when taking someone's order because I had bad anxiety about screwing up under pressure. I was telling myself: "If I can't even work the cash register at Mc Donald's, then I must be a dumbass." But the reality of why this kept happening is far more complex. I'm not a dumbass because I got anxiety in certain settings, made constant mistakes under pressure, or lacked confidence in myself, these we're just traits of myself that I self-bullied myself over due to comparing myself to others. I can't control what those other people think of me, but I can at least control what I think of me, and it's through this act of radical self-compassion that big and positive changes began to occur in my person that caused others to respect me, despite my "flaws." This also applies to you. You aren't inferior to others just because you feel different. You aren't inferior because it feels like you need more space to figure things out. You aren't inferior because you can't perform well at a job that others are able to. Nobody is inferior because of how much/what they produce for society or the hand they were dealt at birth. The only way you become "inferior" to others, is when you tell yourself that you're "inferior" to others.
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Change the value system by which you judge yourself, and others. If it’s actually a fact that you’re intellectually lower than others then stop judging yourself through that lense. Intellect is economically valuable sure, but in terms of your value as a human, not so much. How do you feel about your values? How kind are you? Are you a good friend? A good listener? Do you get to work on time? Do you have a good attitude? How resilient are you? How persistent? At the very least you seem to be a persistent person, always trying in the face of difficulty… these strengths don’t go unnoticed man. Double down on those strengths You also seem to be articulate enough to write a damn good post articulating your problem clearly.
Quora
quora.com › How-do-I-deal-with-an-inferior-person
How to deal with an inferior person - Quora
Answer (1 of 12): Order them around in a cavalier manner. Reprimand them for the smallest mistake. Humiliate them in front of other people. When upset you might yell, “God it’s impossible to get good help anymore….Roosevelt ruined this country” Have them genuflect in front of you after ...
Quora
quora.com › What-is-the-definition-of-inferior-Can-a-clever-person-also-be-inferior
What is the definition of inferior? Can a clever person also be inferior? - Quora
Answer (1 of 4): terrorists are clever the only way to be superior is to be superior with others you cannot be superior alone and then you are only superior because you use proof & facts & this is a lot harder than it looks but practice makes it easier this is preferred by women & men who want b...
Longman
ldoceonline.com › dictionary › inferior
inferior | meaning of inferior in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishinferiorin‧fe‧ri‧or1 /ɪnˈfɪəriə $ -ˈfɪriər/ ●●○ adjective 1 BADWORSEnot good, or not as good as someone or something else OPP superior I felt very inferior among all those academics. wine of inferior quality inferior goodsinferior ...