INFERIOR. One who in relation to another has less power and is below him; one who is bound to obey another. He who makes the law is the superior; he who is bound to obey it, the inferior. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 8.

Source: Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
 

Inferior \In*fe"ri*or\, a. [L., compar. of inferus that is below, underneath, the lower; akin to E. under: cf. F. inf['e]rieur. See Under.]

[1913 Webster]

1. Lower in place, rank, value, excellence, etc.; less important or valuable; subordinate; underneath; beneath. [1913 Webster]

A thousand inferior and particular propositions. --I. Watts. [1913 Webster]

The body, or, as some love to call it, our inferior nature. --Burke. [1913 Webster]

Whether they are equal or inferior to my other poems, an author is the most improper judge. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

2. Poor or mediocre; as, an inferior quality of goods. [1913 Webster]

3. (Astron.)
   (a) Nearer the sun than the earth is; as, the inferior or interior planets; an inferior conjunction of Mercury or Venus.
   (b) Below the horizon; as, the inferior part of a meridian. [1913 Webster]

4. (Bot.)
   (a) 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.
   (b) On the side of a flower which is next the bract; anterior. [1913 Webster]

5. (Min.) Junior or subordinate in rank; as, an inferior officer. [1913 Webster]

Inferior court (Law), a court subject to the jurisdiction of another court known as the superior court, or higher court.

Inferior letter, Inferior figure (Print.), a small letter or figure standing at the bottom of the line (opposed to superior letter or figure), as in A2, Bn, 2 and n are inferior characters.

Inferior tide, the tide corresponding to the moon's transit of the meridian, when below the horizon. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

Inferior \In*fe"ri*or\, n. A person lower in station, rank, intellect, etc., than another. [1913 Webster]

A great person gets more by obliging his inferior than by disdaining him. --South. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

coarsened \coarsened\ adj. made coarse or crude by lack of skill; -- sometimes used to mean inferior. [WordNet 1.5]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

217 Moby Thesaurus words for "inferior": Mickey Mouse, adherent, assistant, attendant, auxiliary, average, back-burner, bad, base, black, bootlicker, cheap, cheesy, client, coarse, cog, common, commonality, commonalty, crappy, creature, criminal, crummy, declasse, defective, deficient, demeaning, dependent, deputy, dinky, disadvantaged, disciple, dispensable, doormat, down, earlier, employee, evil, fair, feudal, feudatory, flunky, follower, fourth-class, gimcrack, good-for-nothing, hack, hanger-on, heeler, helper, henchman, hireling, hoi polloi, homager, humble, ill, immaterial, imperfect, improper, in the shade, inaccurate, inadequate, inappreciable, inauspicious, incapable, incapable of, incompetent, inconsequential, inconsiderable, indifferent, ineffective, inefficient, inept, inessential, inexpedient, infra dig, insignificant, insufficient, invalid, irregular, irrelevant, junior, junky, lackey, lacking, less, lesser, lickspittle, liege, liege man, lightweight, little, lousy, low, low-class, low-grade, low-priority, low-quality, low-test, lower, lower class, lower orders, lowest, lowly, malevolent, marginal, masses, mean, mediocre, menial, middling, minion, minor, minus, minute, modest, myrmidon, negligible, nether, no great shakes, no-account, no-good, nonessential, not vital, of no account, of no consequence, of no matter, of no significance, ordinary, paltry, pawn, peccant, peon, petit, poor, poor relation, punk, retainer, right-hand man, satellite, satrap, scrub, second fiddle, second rank, second string, second-best, second-class, second-rate, secondary, seedy, serf, servant, servile, shabby, shoddy, short, short of, sinful, sinister, slave, sleazy, small, sorry, stooge, sub, subaltern, subjacent, subject, subordinate, subservient, substandard, sycophant, tacky, tawdry, technical, third rank, third string, third stringer, third-class, third-rate, tinny, tributary, unable, unable to, under, underling, underprivileged, understrapper, unendowed, unessential, unfavorable, unfit, unfitted, ungifted, unhealthy, unimportant, unimpressive, unkind, unnoteworthy, unpleasant, unqualified, unreached, unskillful, untalented, untoward, unworthy, valueless, vassal, vicious, vulgar, wanting, wicked, worthless, wretched, wrong, yeoman, yes-man

Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
 

inferior adj
1: of or characteristic of low rank or importance [ant: superior]
2: of low or inferior quality [ant: superior]
3: inferior in rank or status; "the junior faculty"; "a lowly corporal"; "petty officialdom"; "a subordinate functionary" [syn: junior-grade, lower, lower-ranking, lowly, petty(a), secondary, subaltern, subordinate]
4: written or printed below and to one side of another character [syn: subscript] [ant: adscript, superscript]
5: having an orbit between the sun and the Earth's orbit; "Mercury and Venus are inferior planets" [ant: superior]
6: lower than a given reference point; "inferior alveolar artery"
7: falling short of some prescribed norm; "substandard housing" [syn: deficient, substandard]

noun

1: one of lesser rank or station or quality [ant: superior]
2: a character or symbol set or printed or written beneath or slightly below and to the side of another character [syn: subscript] [ant: superscript]

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0
 

Inferior \In*fe"ri*or\, a. [L., compar. of inferus that is below, underneath, the lower; akin to E. under: cf. F. inf['e]rieur. See Under.]

1. Lower in place, rank, excellence, etc.; less important or valuable; subordinate; underneath; beneath.

A thousand inferior and particular propositions. --I. Watts.

The body, or, as some love to call it, our inferior nature. --Burke.

Whether they are equal or inferior to my other poems, an author is the most improper judge. --Dryden.

2. Poor or mediocre; as, an inferior quality of goods.

3. (Astron.)
   (a) Nearer the sun than the earth is; as, the inferior or interior planets; an inferior conjunction of Mercury or Venus.
   (b) Below the horizon; as, the inferior part of a meridian.

4. (Bot.)
   (a) 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.
   (b) On the side of a flower which is next the bract; anterior.

5. (Min.) Junior or subordinate in rank; as, an inferior officer.

Inferior court (Law), a court subject to the jurisdiction of another court known as the superior, or higher, court.

Inferior letter, Inferior figure (Print.), a small letter or figure standing at the bottom of the line (opposed to superior letter or figure), as in A_2, B_n, 2 and n are inferior characters.

Inferior tide, the tide corresponding to the moon's transit of the meridian, when below the horizon.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Inferior \In*fe"ri*or\, n. A person lower in station, rank, intellect, etc., than another.

A great person gets more by obliging his inferior than by disdaining him. --South.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)