What does inferior mean?
Word: Inferior
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Inferior means lower in quality, value or rank than someone or something else.
Synonyms: lesser, poorer, second-rate
Antonyms: better, first-rate
How do you spell inferior?
Syllables: in - fe - ri - or
Tricky part: The ending is ior, not ier or iour: British spelling habits tempt students into inferiour. The vowel after f is e.
Watch out for: inferier, inferiour, infirior
Memory tip: Junior, senior and inferior all close with ior, the ending of words that compare rank or age.
Inferior in a sentence
Example 1: These shoes are cheaper, but the leather is inferior.
Example 2: No one should be made to feel inferior because of their accent.
Example 3: Our team was told it was inferior to the champions, but we won the final.
Fun Fact
In medicine, inferior simply means lower down in the body, not worse: the inferior vena cava is the large vein carrying blood from the lower body to the heart.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to inferior as used in the sentence:
The shopkeeper tried to sell us cloth of inferior quality at the full price.
a) imported
b) colourful
c) substandard
d) expensive
Show answer
c) substandard. Inferior quality is quality below the usual standard, which is what substandard means.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. exellent 2. inferior 3. adequite 4. mediocer
a) only average and not very good
b) good enough for a particular purpose
c) extremely good
d) lower in quality or rank than another
Show answer
d) lower in quality or rank than another. Inferior is right; mediocre ends in cre, adequate ends in ate and excellent has xc.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
inferrior
a) i
b) r
c) e
d) o
Show answer
b) r. The r after fe is single: in-fe-ri-or.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
A wise shopper avoids buying nriifoer rice, however low the price.
a) inferno
b) interior
c) informer
d) inferior
Show answer
d) inferior. The jumble has an f and no t or m, which rules out interior and informer; inferno has only one i.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A shop sells four phones. The inferior one is the phone that ____.
a) comes with a long warranty
b) lasts five years
c) won a design award
d) breaks within a week
Show answer
d) breaks within a week
2. In which sentence is inferior used correctly?
a) This cheap paper is inferior to the paper we used last year.
b) Rahul came inferior in the race, just behind the winner.
c) The inferior of the house was painted pale blue.
d) The lift took us inferior to the basement car park.
Show answer
a) This cheap paper is inferior to the paper we used last year.
