inferior
/ɪnˈfɪɹ.i.ɚ/adjective, noun
inferior is spelled I-N-F-E-R-I-O-R: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, inferior means “Lower in rank, status, or quality” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in inferior?
| Letters | 8: I-N-F-E-R-I-O-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.5 times per million words; the 9,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is inferior?
Inferior appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce inferior?
- UK /ɪnˈfɪə.ɹi.ə/
- British /ɪnˈfɪːɹɪjə/
- US /ɪnˈfɪɹ.i.ɚ/
Inferior has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-inferior.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with inferior?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as inferior from its last stressed vowel (/ɪɹiəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of inferior
- more inferior comparative
- most inferior superlative
- inferiour
- inferiors plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does inferior mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Lower in rank, status, or quality.
Anna had always felt inferior to her brother due to poor school grades.
- 2
Of low rank, standard or quality.
an inferior officer
- 3
(of a court or tribunal) Susceptible to having its decisions overturned by a higher court.
- 4
Denoting goods or services which are in greater demand during a recession than in a boom, for example second-hand clothes.
- 5
Situated further below (another part of the body), a direction that in humans corresponds to caudad.
- 6
Situated in a relatively low posterior or ventral position in a quadrupedal body.
- 7
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).
- 8
On the side of a flower which is next to the bract.
noun
- 1
A person of lower rank, stature, or ability to another.
,
- 2
An inferior letter, figure, or symbol.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate inferior?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of inferior: inf..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Inferior in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | inferior |
| Spanish | inferior , malmatado |
| French | inférieur |
| German | untergeordnet, nachgeordnet, unterlegen , tiefer |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does inferior come from?
Borrowed from Latin īnferior (“lower in situation or place”), comparative of īnferus (“below, underneath”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).