subordinate
Placed in a lower class, rank, or position.
Other meanings
Submissive or inferior to, or controlled by authority.
dependent on and either modifying or complementing the main clause
“In the sentence “The barbecue finished before John arrived”, the subordinate clause “before John arrived” specifies the time of the main clause, “The barbecue finished”.”
Related words
- nonsubordinate
- subordinately
- subordinateness
- unsubordinate
- subordinate clause
- subordinate court
- subordinate legislation
- subordinate trait
Word history
From Medieval Latin "subōrdinātus".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “subordinate” on Wiktionary, by its contributors, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.