subordinate

[ adjective, noun suh-bawr-dn-it; verb suh-bawr-dn-eyt ]

/ adjective, noun səˈbɔr dn ɪt; verb səˈbɔr dnˌeɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR subordinate ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

placed in or belonging to a lower order or rank.

of less importance; secondary.

subject to or under the authority of a superior.

subservient or inferior.

subject; dependent.

Grammar.

acting as a modifier, as when I finished, which is subordinate to They were glad in They were glad when I finished.
noting or pertaining to a subordinating conjunction.

Obsolete. submissive.

noun

a subordinate person or thing.

verb (used with object), sub·or·di·nat·ed, sub·or·di·nat·ing.

to place in a lower order or rank.

to make secondary (usually followed by to): to subordinate work to pleasure.

to make subject, subservient, or dependent (usually followed by to): to subordinate passion to reason.

Nearby words

suboptimal, suborbital, suborder, subordinal, subordinary, subordinate, subordinate clause, subordinated, subordinated debt, subordinating conjunction, subordination

Origin of subordinate

1425–75; late Middle English (adj.) < Medieval Latin subōrdinātus past participle of subōrdināre to subordinate, equivalent to Latin sub- sub- + ōrdin- (stem of ōrdō) rank, order + -ātus -ate¹

SYNONYMS FOR subordinate

2 ancillary.

8 inferior.

9 lower, reduce.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR subordinate ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR subordinate

2 superior; primary.

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Related forms

sub·or·di·nate·ly, adverbsub·or·di·nate·ness, nounsub·or·di·na·tion, sub·or·di·na·cy

[suh-bawr-dn-uh-see] /səˈbɔr dn ə si/, nounsub·or·di·na·tive

[suh-bawr-dn-ey-tiv, -bawr-dn-uh-] /səˈbɔr dnˌeɪ tɪv, -ˈbɔr dn ə-/, adjective

non·sub·or·di·nate, adjectivenon·sub·or·di·nat·ing, adjectivepre·sub·or·di·nate, verb (used with object), pre·sub·or·di·nat·ed, pre·sub·or·di·nat·ing.self-sub·or·di·nat·ing, adjectiveun·sub·or·di·nate, adjectiveun·sub·or·di·na·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for subordinate

That is where the subordinate gangs like Big Hazard come in.
The Mexican Mafia Is the Daddy of All Street Gangs|Seth Ferranti|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Indeed, the committee is composed of pastors who are subordinate to Driscoll and were not elected by their fellow pastors.
Another Mega Church Implodes|Warren Throckmorton|September 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tech PR firm OpenCommunications was hit with claims that its CEO made unwelcome advances toward a subordinate.
Yahoo’s Accused Sexual Harasser Asked Women to Wear More Skirts at Work|Olivia Nuzzi|July 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The individual, even if royal, was subordinate to a larger group.
Virgin Sacrifice and the Meaning of the Parthenon|Nick Romeo|February 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

He had control over even the smallest detail and most likely would have told his subordinate what to do.
Laurence Leamer on Coal Baron Donald Blankenship’s Downfall|Laurence Leamer|May 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The returns from the subordinate branches of this service exhibit a regularity and order highly creditable to its character.
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents,|Edited by James D. Richardson
Rasay has written to Boswell an account of the injury done him by representing his house as subordinate to that of Dunvegan.
Life Of Johnson, Volume 5|Boswell
You can have it subordinate if you like, but you have got to have it.
The Story of a Play|W. D. Howells
Notwithstanding his recognition of a number of subordinate divinities, he held that the Divine is one, because Reason is one.
Christianity and Greek Philosophy|Benjamin Franklin Cocker
These other members of the metamorphic series are, in this case, considered as subordinate to the true gneiss.
A Manual of Elementary Geology|Charles Lyell.

British Dictionary definitions for subordinate

subordinate

adjective (səˈbɔːdɪnɪt)

of lesser order or importance

under the authority or control of anothera subordinate functionary

noun (səˈbɔːdɪnɪt)

a person or thing that is subordinate

verb (səˈbɔːdɪˌneɪt) (tr usually foll by to)

to put in a lower rank or position (than)

to make subservientto subordinate mind to heart

Derived Forms

subordinately, adverbsubordination or subordinateness, nounsubordinative, adjective

Word Origin for subordinate

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012