subordinate
/səˈbɔːdɪnət/ (bre, ipa) · /səˈbɔːrdɪnət/ (ame, ipa) · /sə-ˈbȯr-də-nət -ˈbȯrd-nət/ (ame, mw) · /səˈbɔː.dɪ.nət/ (bre, ipa) · /səˈbɔːr.dən.ət/ (ame, ipa) · /səˈbɔː.dɪ.neɪt/ (bre, ipa) · /səˈbɔːr.dən.eɪt/ (ame, ipa)
subordinate — adjective
- subordinatepositive
- more subordinatecomparative
- most subordinatesuperlative
1. positioned below another person or group within a hierarchy — for example, a jun
positioned below another person or group within a hierarchy — for example, a junior doctor who takes instructions from a senior consultant.
As a junior researcher, Kian held a subordinate role on the science team.
subordinate role — noun phrase describing job status
The warehouse staff at the Taipei depot are subordinate to the regional manager, Ayesha Chen.
be subordinate to [person] — pattern for hierarchy
Élise refused to accept a subordinate position in the new product development team.
At the hospital where Anong works, subordinate nurses report directly to the head nurse on each floor.
The student council at Evelyn's school plays a subordinate role to the principal's office in budget decisions.
- junior
Less formal; used mainly for people in early career stages
- secondary
Focuses on importance rather than formal rank; also used for things, not just people
- lower-ranking
More literal and specific to official positions; slightly formal
文法句型
be subordinate to + noun phrase
常見錯誤
❗ 'She is subordinate than the team leader.' ✅ 'She is subordinate to the team leader.' — Subordinate takes the preposition 'to', not 'than'.
2. showing a willingness to obey another person's authority or to accept being cont
showing a willingness to obey another person's authority or to accept being controlled without objecting — for example, an employee who never questions their boss's decisions.
Jude's subordinate attitude toward authority made him popular with the old-fashioned managers.
subordinate attitude — describes a personal quality of obedience
General Mert expected a completely subordinate response from every soldier in his battalion.
Adaeze found it difficult to remain subordinate to a boss whose cost-cutting plans she openly disagreed with.
In the rural village where Aylin grew up, wives were subordinate to their husbands in all family matters.
- submissive
More direct and common; may imply weakness
- docile
Suggests being easy to manage or teach, with no hint of resistance
- obedient
Focuses on following rules or orders, not necessarily attitude
- defiant
Openly resisting authority
- rebellious
Actively refusing to obey
文法句型
be subordinate to + noun phrase
用法筆記
This sense describes a person's attitude or behaviour (willing obedience), rather than their official position in a hierarchy. Distinguish from sense 1 (LOWER RANK), which focuses on formal rank or job level.
3. relating to a clause in a sentence that cannot stand on its own as a complete st
relating to a clause in a sentence that cannot stand on its own as a complete statement and depends on a main clause to give it full meaning — for example, 'when the rain stopped' in 'We left when the rain stopped'.
In the sentence 'Lan left because she felt unwell,' the clause after 'because' is a subordinate clause.
subordinate clause introduced by 'because' — grammar pattern
During the grammar quiz, Saira underlined every subordinate clause that began with 'although' or 'unless' in a short story.
subordinate clause introduced by 'although' or 'unless' — subordinating conjunction pattern
Christopher struggled to identify which part of his history essay about the Korean War contained a subordinate clause.
Jabari wrote 'if the rain stops soon' on the whiteboard, and his teacher explained it was just a subordinate clause.
- dependent clause
More common term in modern grammar teaching; interchangeable with subordinate clause
- embedded clause
Describes a clause placed inside another clause; more technical
- main clause
A clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence
- independent clause
Same as main clause; the opposite of a dependent/subordinate clause
文法句型
subordinate clause + main clause
用法筆記
Only sense that is specific to grammar. A subordinate clause is also called a dependent clause. The opposite is an independent clause or main clause.
常見錯誤
❗ 'He wrote a subordinate sentence.' ✅ 'He wrote a sentence containing a subordinate clause.' — Subordinate describes a clause, not a sentence.
subordinate — noun
- subordinatesingular
- subordinatesplural
1. someone who works in an organisation but has a lower rank and less authority tha
someone who works in an organisation but has a lower rank and less authority than the person who is in charge of them.
The manager asked one of her subordinates to prepare the weekly sales report.
possessive + subordinates — common workplace pattern
At the weekly team meeting, Evelyn's supervisor listened carefully to suggestions from her subordinates about the new schedule.
Joon spoke to all his subordinates in the marketing department before the product launch deadline.
Sofia was known among her subordinates for being fair and approachable, often inviting their input during budget meetings.
The new CEO, Gabriel, held one-to-one meetings with every subordinate to hear their ideas for improving workflow.
文法句型
possessive + subordinate
subordinate + of + noun phrase
用法筆記
Often used with a possessive determiner (e.g. 'her subordinates', 'my subordinates'). Common in workplace and military contexts. More formal than 'junior' or 'assistant'.
常見錯誤
❗ 'She is a subordinate of me.' ✅ 'She is my subordinate.' — Possessive determiners are more natural than 'of' phrases with this noun.
❗ 'He is my subordinate in rank.' ✅ 'He is my subordinate.' — Subordinate already implies a lower rank; adding 'in rank' is redundant.
2. a word that refers to a more specific thing within a larger category named by an
a word that refers to a more specific thing within a larger category named by another word — for example, 'poodle' is a subordinate of 'dog', and 'dog' is a subordinate of 'animal' (also called a hyponym).
In the linguistics class, Eli learned that 'rose' is a subordinate of the word 'flower'.
subordinate of — linguistic relation pattern
In her linguistics textbook, Ada read that 'poodle' is a subordinate of 'dog', like 'dog' is of 'animal'.
Hyun looked up several subordinates of 'vehicle' — such as 'car', 'bus', and 'truck' — for the vocabulary assignment.
Ryo's English teacher showed the class how a thesaurus lists common subordinates of a broad word like 'colour'.
- hyponym
The standard linguistic term for a word with a narrower meaning
- specific term
Non-technical way to describe the same idea
- superordinate
A word whose meaning includes that of another word; also called hypernym
- hypernym
The standard term for a broader category word
文法句型
subordinate of + noun phrase
用法筆記
This is a technical term in linguistics. The opposite is a 'superordinate' or 'hypernym'. The more common everyday term for this concept is 'hyponym'.
subordinate — verb
- subordinatepresent simple I / you / we / they
- subordinates3rd person singular
- subordinating-ing form
- subordinatedpast simple
1. to regard or handle a person, group, or thing as having lower worth or priority
to regard or handle a person, group, or thing as having lower worth or priority than another — for example, putting a company's profits ahead of its workers' well-being.
Marco felt his manager was trying to subordinate him to the new project leader.
subordinate [person] to [person] — hierarchy pattern
The factory's new safety policy subordinates workers' health needs to daily production targets set by management.
subordinate [noun] to [noun] — prioritisation pattern
Dewi refused to subordinate her artistic vision to the sponsor's demands for brighter, louder designs.
The local government was accused of subordinating coastal environmental protection to short-term tourism profits.
The new school rules at Lan's high school subordinate classroom creativity to strict exam preparation schedules.
- prioritise
To treat something as more important than other things
- elevate
To raise to a higher rank or position
文法句型
subordinate + noun phrase + to + noun phrase
用法筆記
Follows the pattern 'subordinate + noun phrase + to + noun phrase', where the element after 'to' is the one given higher priority. The verb is frequently used in formal or critical discussions of policy and management.
常見錯誤
❗ 'The manager subordinated his assistant.' ✅ 'The manager subordinated his assistant to the senior consultant.' — This verb always requires 'to' to indicate who or what is given higher priority.
❗ 'They subordinated the plan.' ✅ 'They subordinated the plan to the budget constraints.' — Without 'to', the sentence feels incomplete; the verb needs both an object and a target of comparison.