SECONDARY: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for SECONDARY?

Need another word that means the same as “secondary”? Find 39 synonyms and 30 related words for “secondary” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Secondary” are: junior-grade, lower-ranking, lowly, petty, subaltern, subordinate, lesser, lower, minor, peripheral, incidental, tangential, marginal, ancillary, subsidiary, subservient, inessential, of little account, unimportant, less important, indirect, derived, derivative, resulting, resultant, concomitant, accompanying, consequential, contingent, alternative, spare, extra, additional, another, supporting, substitute, auxiliary, secondary coil, secondary winding

Secondary as a Noun

Definitions of "Secondary" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “secondary” as a noun can have the following definitions:

• The Secondary or Mesozoic era.
• A secondary feather.
• A secondary coil or winding in an electrical transformer.
• The defensive football players who line up behind the linemen.
• A secondary school.
• Coil such that current is induced in it by passing a current through the primary coil.

Synonyms of "Secondary" as a noun (2 Words)

secondary coil	The defensive football players who line up behind the linemen.
secondary winding	The defensive football players who line up behind the linemen.

Secondary as an Adjective

Definitions of "Secondary" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “secondary” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Relating to or denoting the output side of a device using electromagnetic induction, especially in a transformer.
• Being of second rank or importance or value; not direct or immediate.
• Denoting or relating to organisms in a particular community that belong to the second trophic level among its consumers, and consume primary consumers.
• Coming after, less important than, or resulting from someone or something else that is primary.
• Having a reversible chemical reaction and therefore able to store energy.
• Belonging to a lower class or rank.
• Inferior in rank or status.
• Not of major importance.
• (chiefly of amines) derived from ammonia by replacement of two hydrogen atoms by organic groups.
• Relating to education for children from the age of eleven to sixteen or eighteen.
• Depending on or incidental to what is original or primary.
• (of an organic compound) having its functional group located on a carbon atom which is bonded to two other carbon atoms.

Synonyms of "Secondary" as an adjective (37 Words)

accompanying	Following or accompanying as a consequence. Owning a home brings with it a horde of accompanying expenses.
additional	Added, extra, or supplementary to what is already present or available. Called for additional troops.
alternative	Serving or used in place of another. An alternative plan.
ancillary	Providing necessary support to the primary activities or operation of an organization, system, etc. Paragraph 19 was merely ancillary to paragraph 16.
another	Any of various alternatives; some other. Put it off to another or some other day.
auxiliary	Furnishing added support. The main library and its auxiliary branches.
concomitant	Following or accompanying as a consequence. She loved travel with all its concomitant worries.
consequential	Important; significant. The new congress lacked consequential leaders.
contingent	(of losses, liabilities, etc.) that can be anticipated to arise if a particular event occurs. Arms sales contingent on the approval of congress.
derivative	Resulting from or employing derivation. Equity based derivative products.
derived	Formed or developed from something else; not original. The belief that classes and organizations are secondary and derived.
extra	Excessive or extravagant. Extra ribs as well as other supernumerary internal parts.
incidental	(sometimes followed by `to’) minor or casual or subordinate in significance or nature or occurring as a chance concomitant or consequence. The road will bring other incidental advantages.
indirect	(of a route) not straight; not following the shortest way. Indirect evidence.
inessential	Not basic or fundamental. Inessential information.
junior-grade	Inferior in rank or status.
less important	A quantifier meaning not as great in amount or degree.
lesser	Used in names of animals and plants which are smaller than similar kinds e g lesser spotted woodpecker lesser celandine. He was convicted of a lesser assault charge.
lower	(of an animal or plant) showing relatively primitive or simple characteristics. Managers lower down the hierarchy.
lower-ranking	Inferior in rank or status.
lowly	(of an organism) primitive or simple. A lowly corporal.
marginal	Minor and not important; not central. A marginal victory.
minor	Of an interval characteristic of a minor scale and less by a semitone than the equivalent major interval. Minor children.
of little account	Young, immature.
peripheral	Of secondary or minor importance; marginal. She will see their problems as peripheral to her own.
petty	Unduly concerned with trivial matters, especially in a small-minded or spiteful way. She thought readers were being petty in writing to complain about blocked paths.
resultant	Occurring with or following as a consequence. Restructuring and the resultant cost savings.
resulting	Occurring or following as the consequence of something. Talk of a general election and the resulting political uncertainty.
spare	With no excess fat; thin. Spare time on my hands.
subaltern	Of lower status. The private tutor was a recognized subaltern part of the bourgeois family.
subordinate	Subject or submissive to authority or the control of another. His subordinate officers.
subservient	Abjectly submissive; characteristic of a slave or servant- S.H.Adams. He expected her career to become subservient to his.
subsidiary	(of a company) controlled by a holding or parent company. Many argue that the cause of animal rights is subsidiary to that of protecting the environment.
substitute	Serving or used in place of another. Substitute coffee.
supporting	Capable of bearing a structural load. A supporting wall.
tangential	Diverging from a previous course or line; erratic. Tangential thoughts.
unimportant	Devoid of importance, meaning, or force. The question seems unimportant.

Usage Examples of "Secondary" as an adjective

• A secondary school.
• A secondary infection.
• Luck plays a role, but it's ultimately secondary to local knowledge.
• The primary and secondary coils of the transformer.
• The stone will be hauled to a secondary crusher.
• Played a secondary role in world events.
• The plot is of secondary importance: what matters most is the relationships between the characters.
• A secondary source.
• When a bear eats a plant-eating rodent, the bear is functioning as a secondary consumer.
• The lead-acid accumulator used in cars consists of secondary cells.
• Secondary streams.
• A secondary issue.

Associations of "Secondary" (30 Words)

auxiliary	An auxiliary verb. The main library and its auxiliary branches.
extra	Excessive or extravagant. Crudit is so extra just call it a snack.
flimsy	Insubstantial and easily damaged. A pretty flimsy excuse.
inconsequential	Lacking worth or importance. His work seems trivial and inconsequential.
inconsiderable	Too small or unimportant to merit attention. A not inconsiderable artist.
insignificant	(of a person) without power or influence. The sum required was insignificant compared with military spending.
insubstantial	Lacking material form or substance; unreal. The huts are relatively few and insubstantial.
mini	Denoting a miniature version of something. A mini camera.
miniature	A plant or animal that is a smaller version of an existing variety or breed. Seven full size car bodies and three miniatures were used.
minor	The minor leagues in baseball or American football. Concerto in A minor.
negligible	So small as to be meaningless; insignificant. The effect was negligible.
nitpick	Engage in fussy or pedantic fault-finding. The state is nitpicking about minor administrative matters.
nominal	Pertaining to a noun or to a word group that functions as a noun. EU legislation allowed variation around the nominal weight that printed on each packet.
paltry	Contemptibly small in amount. She would earn a paltry 33 more a month.
peccadillo	A petty misdeed. The sexual peccadilloes of celebrities aren t necessarily news.
pettiness	The quality of being unimportant and petty or frivolous. The sheer pettiness of the officials was quite startling.
picayune	Small and of little importance. The picayune squabbling of party politicians.
piddling	Pathetically trivial; trifling. Piddling little questions.
recessive	A recessive trait or gene. This variant was a low status and recessive feature.
slight	Being of delicate or slender build. A slight increase.
subordinate	Make subordinate dependent or subservient. A subordinate kingdom.
subsidiary	(of a company) controlled by a holding or parent company. The firm s Spanish subsidiary.
supplementary	A supplementary person or thing. The development of databases supplementary to existing ones.
tenuous	Having thin consistency. A tenuous argument.
trifling	Unimportant or trivial. A trifling sum.
trivial	Concerned with trivialities. A trivial mind.
underling	A person lower in status or rank. She was shouting orders at underlings between gulps of coffee.
undistinguished	Lacking distinction; unexceptional. An undistinguished career.
unessential	Not absolutely necessary; inessential. A train has broken down resulting in a call to postpone all unessential travel.
unimportant	Devoid of importance, meaning, or force. A relatively unimportant feature of the system.