inferiority complex

American  

[in-feer-ee-awr-i-tee kom-pleks, -or-] / ɪnˌfɪər iˈɔr ɪ ti ˌkɒm plɛks, -ˈɒr- /

noun

Psychology.

1. an intense feeling of inferiority or inadequacy; low self-esteem, sometimes characterized by compensatory behaviors intended to bolster self-confidence.

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inferiority complex British  

noun

1. psychiatry a disorder arising from the conflict between the desire to be noticed and the fear of being humiliated, characterized by aggressiveness or withdrawal into oneself

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Etymology

Origin of inferiority complex

First recorded in 1920–25

Compare meaning

How does inferiority-complex compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• superiority complex vs. inferiority complex

Example Sentences

Underlying all that is the fragile ego of a state whose outward brassiness is often a cover for an inferiority complex stoked by its glittering neighbor.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026

"There was no inferiority complex from Grimsby, far from it. If anything it was the other way around."

From BBC • Aug. 27, 2025

There can be an inferiority complex that becomes internalized when you don’t get a chance to see yourself presented to the world as beautiful.

From New York Times • Jun. 24, 2023

Koichi Nakano, an observer of Japanese politics who teaches at Sophia University, said the “idolization of Ohtani in Japan reflects its own inferiority complex vis-a-vis the fatherland of baseball that is the U.S.”

From Seattle Times • Mar. 8, 2023

To modern eyes, the puzzle is not that this should have occurred, but that it should have taken so long for people to lose their inferiority complex.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin