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

Need another word that means the same as “subordinate”? Find 43 synonyms and 30 related words for “subordinate” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Subordinate” are: dependent, low-level, lower-ranking, junior, lower, lesser, inferior, lowly, minor, supporting, secondary, subsidiary, subservient, ancillary, auxiliary, attendant, peripheral, marginal, of little account, of little importance, hyponym, subordinate word, foot soldier, underling, assistant, second, second in command, number two, right-hand man, right-hand woman, deputy, aide, adjutant, subaltern, apprentice, flunkey, minion, lackey, mate, subdue

Subordinate as a Noun

Definitions of "Subordinate" as a noun

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

• A person under the authority or control of another within an organization.
• An assistant subject to the authority or control of another.
• A word that is more specific than a given word.

Synonyms of "Subordinate" as a noun (22 Words)

adjutant	A military officer who acts as an administrative assistant to a senior officer. He eventually became adjutant to the commander of the tactical air force.
aide	An assistant to an important person, especially a political leader. A presidential aide.
apprentice	Works for an expert to learn a trade. An apprentice barman.
assistant	A person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose. A care assistant.
deputy	A coal mine official responsible for safety. The deputy prime minister.
flunkey	A liveried manservant or footman.
foot soldier	Travel by walking.
hyponym	A word of more specific meaning than a general or superordinate term applicable to it For example spoon is a hyponym of cutlery.
inferior	An inferior letter figure or symbol. Her social and intellectual inferiors.
junior	A child attending a junior school. Look here junior it s none of your business.
lackey	A brownish European moth of woods and hedgerows, the caterpillars of which live communally in a silken tent on the food tree. Lackeys were waiting to help them from the carriage.
mate	South American tea like drink made from leaves of a South American holly called mate. See you then mate.
minion	A follower or underling of a powerful person, especially a servile or unimportant one. He gets oppressed minions like me to fob them off.
number two	A symbol used to represent a number.
right-hand man	Game equipment consisting of an object used in playing certain board games.
right-hand woman	A female person who plays a significant role (wife or mistress or girlfriend) in the life of a particular man.
second	A speech seconding a motion. The treasure is 2 minutes and 45 seconds south of here.
second in command	A particular point in time.
subaltern	A British commissioned army officer below the rank of captain.
subordinate word	A word that is more specific than a given word.
subsidiary	A company that is completely controlled by another company. A subsidiary of Cable and Wireless.
underling	A person lower in status or rank. She was shouting orders at underlings between gulps of coffee.

Usage Examples of "Subordinate" as a noun

• He was mild-mannered, especially with his subordinates.

Subordinate as a Verb

Definitions of "Subordinate" as a verb

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

• Make subordinate, dependent, or subservient.
• Treat or regard as of lesser importance than something else.
• Make subservient to or dependent on something else.
• Rank or order as less important or consider of less value.

Synonyms of "Subordinate" as a verb (1 Word)

subdue

Get on top of; deal with successfully. She managed to subdue an instinct to applaud.

Usage Examples of "Subordinate" as a verb

• Our wishes have to be subordinated to that of our ruler.
• Art is sometimes subordinated to Science in these schools.
• Practical considerations were subordinated to political expediency.
• To define life would be to subordinate it to reason.

Subordinate as an Adjective

Definitions of "Subordinate" as an adjective

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

• (of a clause) unable to stand alone syntactically as a complete sentence.
• Subject or submissive to authority or the control of another.
• Lower in rank or importance.
• Lower in rank or position.
• Unable to stand alone syntactically as a complete sentence.
• Of less or secondary importance.

Synonyms of "Subordinate" as an adjective (20 Words)

ancillary	Furnishing added support. Paragraph 19 was merely ancillary to paragraph 16.
attendant	(of a person) accompanying another as a companion or assistant. Attendant circumstances.
auxiliary	(of troops) engaged in the service of a nation at war but not part of the regular army. The mind and emotions are auxiliary to each other.
dependent	Contingent on or determined by. People dependent on drugs.
inferior	Of low or inferior quality. Ulcers located in the inferior and posterior wall of the duodenum.
junior	Including or intended for youthful persons. A junior minister.
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.
low-level	At a low level in rank or importance.
lower	(of an animal or plant) showing relatively primitive or simple characteristics. The lower levels of the building.
lower-ranking	Inferior in rank or status.
lowly	Of low birth or station (`base’ is archaic in this sense. A lowly parish priest.
marginal	Relating to water adjacent to the land’s edge or coast. It seems likely to make only a marginal difference.
minor	Of an interval characteristic of a minor scale and less by a semitone than the equivalent major interval. Minor children.
of little account	Lowercase.
of little importance	Small and of little importance.
peripheral	Of secondary or minor importance; marginal. She will see their problems as peripheral to her own.
secondary	(chiefly of amines) derived from ammonia by replacement of two hydrogen atoms by organic groups. Played a secondary role in world events.
subservient	Compliant and obedient to authority. She was subservient to her parents.
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.
supporting	Bearing all or part of the weight of something. A supporting wall.

Usage Examples of "Subordinate" as an adjective

• His subordinate officers.
• A subordinate kingdom.
• A subordinate (or dependent) clause functions as a noun or adjective or adverb within a sentence.
• In adventure stories, character must be subordinate to action.

Associations of "Subordinate" (30 Words)

annihilation	Complete destruction or obliteration. A show of independence is its only hope of avoiding annihilation in next year s elections.
clause	An expression including a subject and predicate but not constituting a complete sentence.
conquest	The act of conquering. She was someone he could display before his friends as his latest conquest.
defeat	An instance of defeating or being defeated. Defeat your enemies.
double	A double measure of spirits. Manchester United won the double twice.
enslave	Cause (someone) to lose their freedom of choice or action. They were enslaved by their need to take drugs.
insignificant	Devoid of importance, meaning, or force. An insignificant sum of money.
junior	A child attending a junior school. He s five years her junior.
mini	Denoting a miniature version of something. A mini dress.
miniature	A very small and highly detailed portrait or other painting. He drank miniatures of brandy on the flight.
minor	Of an interval characteristic of a minor scale and less by a semitone than the equivalent major interval. A bid of two no trumps shows strength in the minors.
mutation	A distinct form resulting from genetic mutation. The mutation of punk s angry energy into something more mindless.
nominally	In name only. The Republicans nominally controlled both houses of Congress but by slim margins.
offshoot	A thing that develops from something else. Commercial offshoots of universities.
peccadillo	A relatively minor fault or sin. The sexual peccadilloes of celebrities aren t necessarily news.
pettiness	The quality of being unimportant and petty or frivolous. Try to overlook insults and pettinesses.
recessive	A recessive trait or gene. This variant was a low status and recessive feature.
repress	Suppress in order to conceal or hide. The uprisings were repressed.
secondary	A secondary feather. Played a secondary role in world events.
sovereign	(of political bodies) not controlled by outside forces. In modern democracies the people s will is in theory sovereign.
subjection	Forced submission to control by others. The country s subjection to European colonialism.
subjugation	Forced submission to control by others. The colonial subjugation of a country by means of brute military force.
subsidiary	Functioning in a supporting capacity. A subsidiary of Cable and Wireless.
trifling	Unimportant or trivial. A trifling sum.
underling	A person lower in status or rank. She was shouting orders at underlings between gulps of coffee.
unessential	Not basic or fundamental. A train has broken down resulting in a call to postpone all unessential travel.
unimportant	Lacking in importance or significance. A relatively unimportant feature of the system.
vassal	A person or country in a subordinate position to another. A vassal state of the Ottoman Empire.
verb	Use a word that is not conventionally used as a verb typically a noun as a verb. Any English noun can be verbed but some are more resistant than others.
vicarious	Occurring in an abnormal part of the body instead of the usual site involved in that function. Vicarious atonement.