Inferiorists

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Persons who hold a belief that themselves or others are of lower status, quality, or value than another group or standard; individuals advocating or supporting the idea of being less significant or competent; those who identify with or promote a theory that emphasizes a subordinate or lesser position compared to others
2. Individuals adhering to the notion that some people or groups are beneath others in worth or ability; supporters of an ideology that views themselves or others as lesser in rank or importance; people endorsing concepts that stress inferiority or subordinate status within social or intellectual hierarchies
3. Followers of a perspective that perceives certain individuals or collectives as diminished in comparison to others; advocates of the belief in reduced status, capability, or dignity; persons promoting or adopting the idea that some entities occupy a lower tier in terms of merit or power

Etymology: The core of this word is a spatial idea. "Inferior" comes from Latin "inferior," the comparative of "inferus," meaning "lower" or "below." Only later did the sense shift from position to rank, so that something lower in place came to be lower in worth. "Inferiorist" adds the suffix "-ist," which comes through Latin "-ista" from Greek "-istēs" and marks a person who adheres to a doctrine or practice. Together they name a person who holds a particular view about rank. Writers using this term have mostly applied it in theology, where the doctrine concerned holds that one figure of the Trinity is subordinate in rank to another. Its parts, however, are securely documented, and both were established in English long before this compound was formed.

Synonyms: subordinates, inferiors, underlings

Antonyms: superiors, leaders, dominants