subordinate

Adjective

subordinate (comparative more subordinate, superlative most subordinate)

1. Placed in a lower class, rank, or position.
   • The several kinds […] and subordinate species of each are easily known.1695, John Woodward, “(please specify the page)”, in An Essay toward a Natural History of the Earth: And Terrestrial Bodies, Especially Minerals: […], London: […] Ric[hard] Wilkin […], →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   lesser, subaltern, petty

   Antonyms:

   superior, superordinate

2. Submissive or inferior to, or controlled by authority.
   • November 9, 1662, Robert South, Of the Creation of Man in the Image of God
     It was subordinate, not enslaved, to the understanding.
   • However, his main point is clearly that the political organization should be subordinate to the real aspirations of the working class and should not be allowed to claim that it expresses those aspirations by virtue of its own 'scientific' omniscience, regardless of what the empirical 'masses'...1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume III: The Breakdown, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozkład (in...

   Antonyms:

   insubordinate

3. (not comparable) dependent on and either modifying or complementing the main clause
   • In the sentence “The barbecue finished before John arrived”, the subordinate clause “before John arrived” specifies the time of the main clause, “The barbecue finished”.

   Synonyms:

   dependent

   Antonyms:

   independent, main

4. Descending in a regular series.

Noun

subordinate (plural subordinates)

1. (countable) One who is subordinate.

   Synonyms:

   inferior, junior, report, subaltern, underling, understrapper

   Antonyms:

   boss, commander, leader, manager, superior, superordinate, supervisor

2. A hyponym.

   Antonyms:

   hypernym, hyperonym, superordinate

Verb

UK/səˈbɔːdɪneɪt/US/səˈbɔɹdɪneɪt/

subordinate (third-person singular simple present subordinates, present participle subordinating, simple past and past participle subordinated)

1. (transitive) To embed (a clause) into another clause that is the main one.
2. (transitive) To make of lower priority in order of payment in bankruptcy.
3. (transitive) To treat (someone) as of less value or importance.

   Synonyms:

   belittle, denigrate