poor relation

British  

noun

1. a person or thing considered inferior to another or others

   plastic is a poor relation of real leather

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poor relation Idioms  

1. An inferior member of a group, as in Many regard Turkey as the poor relation in the European alliance. This expression, first recorded in 1720 for a family member in humble circumstances, began to be used figuratively in the mid-1900s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

poor relation

Bayswater was long considered the poor relation of its ultradesirable London neighbors Notting Hill and Marylebone, but new development is driving up home prices in the area.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026

Since then, T20 cricket, The Hundred and other white-ball franchise competitions have grown in size and stature, leaving one-day cricket seemingly the poor relation of cricket's three main formats.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2023

Though it can seem the poor relation of “real” television, the game show has a long history with the medium.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2023

His poor relation had always been an anomaly in the ranks of SPI employees, old among the young, emaciated among the luscious, a lonely figure, permanently out of step, everyone’s crazy grandpa.

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 22, 2019

Or would he think no more of her, ignoring to-morrow the poor relation whom it had been the whim of the moment to own?

From The Great House by Stanley John Weyman

Related Words

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• assistant
• deputy
• servant
• underling