subordinate
Americanadjective
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placed in or belonging to a lower order or rank.
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of less importance; secondary.
- Synonyms:
- ancillary
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subject to or under the authority of a superior.
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subservient or inferior.
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Grammar.
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acting as a modifier, as when I finished, which is subordinate to They were glad in They were glad when I finished.
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noting or pertaining to a subordinating conjunction.
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Obsolete. submissive.
noun
adjective
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of lesser order or importance
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under the authority or control of another
a subordinate functionary
noun
verb
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to put in a lower rank or position (than)
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to make subservient
to subordinate mind to heart
Other Word Forms
- nonsubordinate adjective
- nonsubordinating adjective
- presubordinate verb (used with object)
- self-subordinating adjective
- subordinacy noun
- subordinately adverb
- subordinateness noun
- subordination noun
- subordinative adjective
- unsubordinate adjective
- unsubordinative adjective
Etymology
Origin of subordinate
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
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.
When these relationships end, female subordinates’ earnings drop by roughly 18% the year after the breakup, with losses persisting for at least four years.
Stanton is a huge and consequential personage in American history, but she has dwindled in the eyes of posterity to become a subordinate of Anthony.
With the aid of Sara Gettelfinger’s choreography, the five subordinate characters jelled as an ensemble, supplying ambience and making up for the missing chorus.
He wasn’t consulted on a decision to transfer one of his subordinates to another division and worried he would be legally liable for the move.
Prasad took the unusual step of signing the letter to the company himself, rather than a subordinate directly overseeing vaccine applications.
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.
