subordinate

B2 · Upper Intermediate Formal

adj. having a lower or less important position.

adj. placed in or belonging to a lower order or rank.

“In many companies, the marketing department is subordinate to the sales department.”

“The colonial administration held a subordinate position relative to the imperial parliament in London.”

C1 · Advanced Education Technical

adj. describes a part of a sentence that cannot stand alone and depends on the main part.

adj. dependent on a main clause; functioning as a modifier or complement within a complex sentence.

“In the sentence 'I left because it was raining', 'because it was raining' is a subordinate clause.”

“Students often struggle with the punctuation of subordinate clauses when they precede the independent clause in academic writing.”

C1 · Advanced Academic · Formal

v. to treat something as less important than something else.

v. to treat or regard as of lesser importance than something else; to make subservient.

“The government decided to subordinate environmental concerns to economic growth.”

“Individual desires are often subordinated to the needs of the community in collectivist cultures.”