Inferior vs Lesser - What's the difference?
inferior | lesser |
of lower quality
* Dryden
of lower rank
located below
# (typography) Printed in subscript.
(botany) Situated below some other organ; said of a calyx when free from the ovary, and therefore below it, or of an ovary with an adherent and therefore inferior calyx.
(botany) On the side of a flower which is next to the bract; anterior.
(astronomy) Nearer to the Sun than the Earth is.
(astronomy) Below the horizon.
a person of lower stature to another
(little)
of two things, the smaller in size, value, importance etc.
a thing that is of smaller size, value, importance etc.
As adjectives the difference between inferior and lesser
is that inferior is of lower quality while lesser is comparative of little.As nouns the difference between inferior and lesser
is that inferior is a person of lower stature to another while lesser is a thing that is of smaller size, value, importance etc.inferior
English
Alternative forms
* inferiour (obsolete)Adjective
(en adjective)- Anna had always felt inferior to her brother due to poor school grades.
- Whether they are equal or inferior to my other poems, an author is the most improper judge.
- an inferior officer
- an inferior figure or letter
- the inferior''' or interior planets; an '''inferior conjunction of Mercury or Venus
- the inferior part of a meridian
Usage notes
(term) and (superior) are generally followed by (to); (than) is seen sometimes, but is viewed as wrong.Synonyms
* See alsoAntonyms
* superiorCoordinate terms
*Noun
(en noun)- As you are my inferior , I can tell you to do anything I want.
Antonyms
* superiorExternal links
* * *Anagrams
* ----lesser
English
Adjective
(head)Derived terms
* lesser anteater * Lesser Antilles * lesser celandine * lesser extent * lesser evil, lesser of two evils * lesser flamingo * lesser included offense * lesser nothura * lesser spotted woodpeckerNoun
(en noun)- the lesser of two evils
- The greater sand hills increasingly do not migrate, but almost all lessers do.