subordinate
subordinate Lexical Profile
subordinate Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Lower in rank, position, authority, or importance.
"All department heads must report to the executive board, as their roles are subordinate to the chief operating officer."
Designating a grammatical clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb within a main clause.
"In complex sentences, a subordinate clause is typically introduced by a conjunction such as 'because' or 'although'."
• noun
A person under the authority, control, or supervision of another within an organization or hierarchy.
"A fair manager listens carefully to feedback from subordinates rather than merely issuing orders."
• verb
To treat or regard as of lesser importance than something else.
"During the crisis, the committee agreed to subordinate personal ambitions to the long-term survival of the institution."
To make subservient or place in a lower rank or position of authority.
"The constitutional reform sought to subordinate the regional militias to civilian oversight."
Word Nuance & Usage
The word is a heteronym: as an adjective and noun, the final syllable is pronounced with a reduced vowel (suh-BOR-dn-it), whereas as a verb, the final syllable has a long 'a' sound (suh-BOR-dn-ayt).
• Rhymes for subordinate
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-15th century from Medieval Latin 'subordinatus', the past participle of 'subordinare' ('to place in a lower order'), formed from Latin 'sub-' ('under') and 'ordinare' ('to arrange or set in order').