subordinate

adjective
UK: /səˈbɔːdɪnət/
US: /səˈbɔːrdɪnət/

  1. Lower in rank or position.

    1. He is subordinate to the manager.
    2. A subordinate officer must obey direct orders without question, even if disagreeable.

  2. Less important than something else.

    1. My needs are subordinate to his.
    2. In this company structure, marketing plays a subordinate role to product development.

Synonyms

dependent subject inferior secondary junior
subordinate noun

  1. A person lower in rank or position.

    1. He is my subordinate at work.
    2. The manager has several subordinates working under their direction.
subordinate verb

  1. To treat someone or something as less important than something else.

    1. He subordinated his desires to the team.
    2. The company subordinated safety concerns to profit margins, leading to the accident.

  2. To put yourself in a lower position.

    1. He subordinated himself to the boss.
    2. She refused to subordinate her principles to gain favor with the management.
subordinate adverb

  1. In a less important position.

    1. He spoke subordinate to the boss.
    2. The new system placed the old one subordinate to the cloud based infrastructure.
subordinate conjunction

  1. Introduces a clause that gives more information about the main part of the sentence and depends on it.

    1. We left after he asked subordinate question.
    2. Use of subordinating conjunctions helps connect subordinate clauses.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "subordinate" in English means: Lower in rank or position., Less important than something else..

The phonetic transcription of "subordinate" is /səˈbɔːdɪnət/ in British English and /səˈbɔːrdɪnət/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "subordinate": dependent, subject, inferior, secondary, junior.

Example usage of "subordinate": "He is subordinate to the manager.". More examples on the page.