superordinate
- noun
- /ˌsuːpərˈɔːrdɪnɪt/
- Formal
:
superior
- In biology, the term superordinate is often used to describe a group that encompasses several subordinate categories, such as mammals including dogs and cats.
Examples
-
The manager acted as a superordinate figure in the team, guiding her subordinates towards achieving their goals.
-
This deprecating attitude is also common among the other two superordinate classes, including their few Mestizo-phenotype members.
Academic text (1997) -
Based on research conducted during the past twenty years on superordinate stratification in Mexico City and the class system of several cities, this article has three goals.
Academic text (1997) -
A president of a large, urban college declared that he built his organization around the 'Seven-S' system: Superordinate goals, Structure, Systems, Strategic planning, Staff, Skills, and Style.
Academic text (1991) -
We see the critical difference between the two experiments to be the presence or absence of strong superordinate retrieval cues that guide the production of both presented words and critical nonpresented words.
Academic text (1997) -
In the sacerdotal theology of the time, an individual might experience an attraction to the religious life, but the call to ordination was to be issued by one's religious superordinates; the first sense of calling, or vocation, came from the inside, the second from the outside.
Academic text (1994) -
Superordinate groups become more racially hostile as the size of a proximate subordinate group increases, which putatively threatens the former's economic and social privilege.
Blog text (11) -
Several studies indicate that women administrators interact more frequently than men with teachers, students, parents, non-parent community members, professional colleagues, and superordinates (Shakeshaft 1989; Ortiz and Marshall 1988).
Academic text (1992) -
In a corporate structure, the CEO is the superordinate leader, responsible for overseeing multiple departments and teams.
Synonyms
102
4.9
A person who has higher rank or authority in a group
16
2.5
A person with great power or status who gets special treatment
9
7.5
People of higher social rank or authority
4
4.2
A person with more power in a company or group
1
9.9
A person who has a high position in a church or other group
Antonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
A general word that includes more specific words like bird for sparrow
How High
Surface Forms
Morphology
superordinate = superordinate (semi-transparent) = super + ordinate
The meaning is built from super- 'above' plus ordinate 'ranked/ordered', but the base adjective is relatively formal and less common.
Etymology
Superordinate comes from Latin parts super- 'above' and ord- 'order'. A useful way to remember the noun is to think of a person or thing put 'above' others in that order, so a superordinate is someone of higher rank.