inferiority
Americannoun
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the quality or state of being lesser or lower in rank, position, quality, etc..
Negative perceptions about the inferiority of generic drugs compared to brand name drugs were more pronounced among some segments of the studied population.
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the quality or state of feeling less important, valuable, or worthy.
The youth center was founded on the belief that youth violence is a product of various social and economic factors that contribute to feelings of inferiority, powerlessness, and hopelessness.
Etymology
Origin of inferiority
First recorded in 1580–90; inferior ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )
Explanation
Inferiority is the quality of being worse than other things or people. You know how some movies are terrible — inferior — compared to other movies? You've noticed the inferiority of those films. Inferiority is a quality possessed by people and things that are not as good as others. To a king, the common people are defined by their inferiority. Most people agree on the inferiority of a TV dinner to a home-cooked meal. When someone feels like they are always worse off than others, they have an inferiority complex. Inferiority is the opposite of superiority.
Vocabulary lists containing inferiority
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
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The Catcher in the Rye
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Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the first few weeks of the war we have seen how Iran has managed its tactical and materiel inferiority to some effect.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026
And if her goofier choices were unanimously refuted as artistic inferiority, we’d never get the chance to see her bounce from “Babygirl” to “Holland” to playing an Italian forensic pathologist in “Scarpetta.”
From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026
But more importantly, he's changed the perception around a team that had always been known for an inferiority complex that held them back in the past.
From BBC • Feb. 5, 2025
“Becoming Karl,” which depicts the rivalry between Mr. Lagerfeld and his peer, Yves Saint Laurent, focuses on Mr. Lagerfeld’s apparently enormous inferiority complex and the two men’s rivalry for the love of Jacques de Bascher.
From New York Times • Jun. 19, 2024
For some reason, somewhere in his life, he has gotten an inferiority complex.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
