different between inferior vs weak
inferior
English
Alternative forms
- inferiour (obsolete)
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin ?nferior (“lower in situation or place”), comparative of ?nferus (“below, underneath”).
Pronunciation
- enPR: ?nfîr??r
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /?n?f??.?i.?/
- (General American) IPA(key): /?n?f??.i.?/
- Rhymes: -???i?(?)
Adjective
inferior (comparative more inferior, superlative most inferior)
- Lower in rank, status, or quality.
- Of low rank, standard or quality.
- (law) (of a court or tribunal) Susceptible to having its decisions overturned by a higher court.
- (economics) Denoting goods or services which are in greater demand during a recession than in a boom, for example second-hand clothes.
- Of low rank, standard or quality.
- Located below:
- (anatomy) Situated below another and especially another similar superior part of an upright body.
- (zoology) Situated in a relatively low posterior or ventral position in a quadrupedal body.
- (botany) Situated below some other organ; said of a calyx when free from the ovary, and therefore below it, or of an ovary with an adherent and therefore inferior calyx.
- (botany) On the side of a flower which is next to the bract.
- Synonym: anterior
- (typography) Printed in subscript.
- (astronomy) Below the horizon.
- (astronomy) Nearer to the Sun than the Earth is.
Usage notes
Inferior and superior are generally followed by to; than is seen sometimes, but is viewed as wrong.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:bad
Antonyms
- superior
Coordinate terms
- (dentistry location adjectives) anterior,? apical,? apicocoronal,? axial,? buccal,? buccoapical,? buccocervical,? buccogingival,? buccolabial,? buccolingual,? bucco-occlusal,? buccopalatal,? cervical,? coronal,? coronoapical,? distal,? distoapical,? distobuccal,? distocervical,? distocoronal,? distofacial,? distogingival,? distoincisal,? distolingual,? disto-occlusal,? distoclusal,? distocclusal,? distopalatal,? facial,? gingival,? incisal,? incisocervical,? inferior,? labial,? lingual,? linguobuccal,? linguo-occlusal,? mandibular,? maxillary,? mesial,? mesioapical,? mesiobuccal,? mesiocervical,? mesiocoronal,? mesiodistal,? mesiofacial,? mesioincisal,? mesiogingival,? mesiolingual,? mesio-occlusal,? mesioclusal,? mesiocclusal,? mesiopalatal,? occlusal,? palatal,? posterior,? proximal,? superior,? vestibular (Category: en:Dentistry) [edit]
Derived terms
Related terms
- Armenia Inferior
- limit inferior
Translations
Noun
inferior (plural inferiors)
- A person of lower rank, stature, or ability to another.
- Antonym: superior
- (printing) An inferior letter, figure, or symbol.
Translations
References
- “inferior”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
- “inferior”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, (Please provide a date or year).
- inferior in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- inferior at OneLook Dictionary Search
Anagrams
- fire iron, fireiron
Catalan
Etymology
From Latin ?nferior.
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Central) IPA(key): /im.f?.?i?o/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /im.fe.?i?o?/
Adjective
inferior (masculine and feminine plural inferiors)
- inferior
- lower
Related terms
- inferioritat
Further reading
- “inferior” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “inferior” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
- “inferior” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “inferior” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
German
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin ?nferior (“lower, inferior”), the comparative of ?nferus (“low, nether, underground”).
Adjective
inferior (not comparable)
- subordinate, secondary
- (of people) inferior
- substandard, bad
Declension
Further reading
- “inferior” in Duden online
Latin
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /in?fe.ri.or/, [???f??i?r]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /in?fe.ri.or/, [in?f???i?r]
Adjective
?nferior (neuter ?nferius, positive ?nferus); third declension
- comparative degree of ?nferus, lower in situation or place:
- Subsequent, later, latter in time or succession.
- Inferior in quality, rank, or number.
Inflection
Third-declension comparative adjective.
Related terms
- infimus (superlative)
Descendants
References
- inferior in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- inferior in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- inferior in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
- Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book?[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
Occitan
Etymology
From Latin ?nferior.
Pronunciation
Adjective
inferior m (feminine singular inferiora, masculine plural inferiors, feminine plural inferioras)
- inferior
- lower
Portuguese
Etymology
From Latin inferior.
Pronunciation
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /?.f???jo?/
- Hyphenation: in?fe?ri?or
Adjective
inferior m or f (plural inferiores, comparable)
- inferior
- Antonym: superior
Romanian
Etymology
From French inférieur, from Latin inferior.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?in.fe.ri?or/
Adjective
inferior m or n (feminine singular inferioar?, masculine plural inferiori, feminine and neuter plural inferioare)
- inferior
Declension
Antonyms
- superior
Related terms
- inferioritate
Spanish
Etymology
From Latin inferior.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /infe??jo?/, [??.fe??jo?]
- Hyphenation: in?fe?rior
Adjective
inferior (plural inferiores)
- inferior (of lower quality)
- inferior (of lower rank)
- inferior (below)
Antonyms
- superior
Derived terms
Related terms
- inferioridad
Further reading
- “inferior” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.
inferior From the web:
- what inferior means
- what inferiority complex mean
- what inferior goods
- what inferiority complex
- what's inferior turbinate
- what inferior good means
- what inferior and superior vena cava
- what's inferior technology
weak
English
Etymology
From Middle English weyk, wayk, weik, waik, from Old Norse veikr (“weak”), from Proto-Germanic *waikwaz (“weak, yielded, pliant, bendsome”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- (“to bend, wind”). Cognate with Old English w?c (“weak, bendsome”), Saterland Frisian wook (“soft, gentle, tender”), West Frisian weak (“soft”), Dutch week (“soft, weak”), German weich (“weak, soft”), Norwegian veik (“weak”), Swedish vek (“weak, pliant”), Icelandic veikur (“bendsome, weak”). Related to Old English w?can (“to yield”). Doublet of week and wick. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)
This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Pronunciation
- enPR: w?k, IPA(key): /wi?k/
- Rhymes: -i?k
- Homophone: week
Adjective
weak (comparative weaker, superlative weakest)
- Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability.
- weak with hunger, mad with love
- Unable to sustain a great weight, pressure, or strain.
- Unable to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible; vulnerable.
- 1703, Nicholas Rowe, The Fair Penitent Act I, scene I:
- Guard thy heart / On this weak side, where most our nature fails.
- 1703, Nicholas Rowe, The Fair Penitent Act I, scene I:
- Dilute, lacking in taste or potency.
- (grammar) Displaying a particular kind of inflection, including:
- (Germanic languages, of verbs) Regular in inflection, lacking vowel changes and having a past tense with -d- or -t-.
- (Germanic languages, of nouns) Showing less distinct grammatical endings.
- (Germanic languages, of adjectives) Definite in meaning, often used with a definite article or similar word.
- (chemistry) That does not ionize completely into anions and cations in a solution.
- (physics) One of the four fundamental forces associated with nuclear decay.
- (slang) Bad or uncool.
- (mathematics, logic) Having a narrow range of logical consequences; narrowly applicable. (Often contrasted with a strong statement which implies it.)
- Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.
- Not having power to convince; not supported by force of reason or truth; unsustained.
- Lacking in vigour or expression.
- Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be prevalent; not potent; feeble.
- (stock exchange) Tending towards lower prices.
- (photography) Lacking contrast.
Synonyms
- (lacking in force or ability): feeble, frail, powerless, vincible, assailable, vulnerable
- (lacking in taste or potency): dilute, watery
- See also Thesaurus:weak
Antonyms
- (lacking in force or ability): healthy, powerful, robust, strong, invincible
- (lacking in taste or potency): potent, robust, strong
- (chemistry: that does not ionize completely): strong
Derived terms
Translations
Anagrams
- Wake, wake, weka
West Frisian
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /v???k/
Adjective
weak
- (Clay) soft
Inflection
Alternative forms
- wêk (Wood)
Further reading
- “weak (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
weak From the web:
- what weakens the immune system
- what weakened the league of nations
- what weakens coral exoskeletons
- what weaknesses should i say in an interview
- what weakness of the articles of confederation
- what weakens a hurricane
- what weakness is revealed in this excerpt from serena
- what weakened the asante kingdom
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