subordinate

[suh-bawr-dn-it, suh-bawr-dn-eyt]

adjective

1. placed in or belonging to a lower order or rank.

2. of less importance; secondary.

   Synonyms: ancillary
   Antonyms: primary, superior

3. subject to or under the authority of a superior.

4. subservient or inferior.

5. subject; dependent.

6. Grammar.

   1. acting as a modifier, as when I finished, which is subordinate to They were glad in They were glad when I finished.

   2. noting or pertaining to a subordinating conjunction.

7. Obsolete.,  submissive.

noun

1. a subordinate person or thing.

   Synonyms: inferior

verb (used with object)

subordinated, subordinating 

1. to place in a lower order or rank.

   Synonyms: reduce, lower

2. to make secondary (usually followed byto ).

   to subordinate work to pleasure.

3. to make subject, subservient, or dependent (usually followed byto ).

   to subordinate passion to reason.

subordinate

adjective

1. of lesser order or importance

2. under the authority or control of another

   a subordinate functionary

noun

1. a person or thing that is subordinate

verb

1. to put in a lower rank or position (than)

2. to make subservient

   to subordinate mind to heart

Other Word Forms

• subordinately adverb
• subordinateness noun
• subordination noun
• subordinacy noun
• subordinative adjective
• nonsubordinate adjective
• nonsubordinating adjective
• presubordinate verb (used with object)
• self-subordinating adjective
• unsubordinate adjective
• unsubordinative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of subordinate¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English adjective subordynat, from Medieval Latin subōrdinātus, past participle of subōrdināre “to subordinate,” equivalent to Latin sub- “under, below, beneath” + ōrdin- (stem of ōrdō ) “rank, order” + -ātus past participle suffix; sub-, -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of subordinate¹

C15: from Medieval Latin subordināre, from Latin _sub- + ordō rank

Example Sentences

In a routine polygraph examination as part of a sought promotion, one of her subordinates said Gen. Tomer-Yerushalmi had directed her spokesperson to leak the film and that other senior staff officers knew this.

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The catalog begins with fin de siècle Europe, when the emergence of mass publishing began to lead to a firmer distinction between subordinate illustrators and visionary fine artists.

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But this pivotal friendship is subordinated to the group dynamic.

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In its 1857 Dred Scott decision, our nation’s highest court, the Supreme Court, ruled that Colored people were an “inferior and subordinate class of beings” as compared to Whites.

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In 1827, the court ruled that military subordinates could not make their “own determination whether an imminent threat of invasion existed.”

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Related Words

• aide 
• assistant 
• deputy 
• servant 
• underling