Subaltern — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a British commissioned army officer below the rank of captain

inferior in rank or status

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/sˈʌbɔltɚn/

🇬🇧British English

/sˈʌbɒltən/

🇮🇳Indian English

/sˈʌbɒltən/

3 syllables Say it as /sˈʌbɔltɚn/.

Examples

the junior faculty
a lowly corporal
petty officialdom

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

junior-grade lower-ranking lowly secondary petty

Parts of Speech

noun	a British commissioned army officer below the rank of captain
adjective	inferior in rank or status “the junior faculty”

Word Forms

subaltern	adjective	inferior in rank or status
pettiness	noun	the quality of being unimportant and petty or frivolous
subaltern	noun	a British commissioned army officer below the rank of captain

Around the World

Europe

🇫🇷French

subalterne

un officier de l'armée britannique sous le grade de capitaine

🇪🇸Spanish

subalterno

un oficial del ejército británico por debajo del rango de capitán

🇮🇹Italian

subalterno

un ufficiale dell'esercito britannico al di sotto del grado di capitano

🇳🇱Dutch

ondergeschikt

een Britse legerofficier onder de rang van kapitein

🇵🇹Portuguese

subalterno

um oficial do exército britânico abaixo do posto de capitão

🇷🇺Russian

подчиненный

офицер британской армии в звании ниже капитана

India

🇮🇳Hindi

मातहत

कैप्टन के पद से नीचे का एक ब्रिटिश कमीशन प्राप्त सेना अधिकारी

🇮🇳Tamil

துணை

கேப்டன் பதவிக்குக் கீழே ஒரு பிரிட்டிஷ் நியமிக்கப்பட்ட இராணுவ அதிகாரி

🇮🇳Telugu

సబాల్టర్న్

ఒక బ్రిటిష్ కమీషన్డ్ ఆర్మీ ఆఫీసర్ కెప్టెన్ స్థాయి కంటే తక్కువ

🇮🇳Gujarati

સબલ્ટર્ન

બ્રિટિશ કમિશન્ડ આર્મી ઓફિસર કેપ્ટનના રેન્કથી નીચે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸಬಾಲ್ಟರ್ನ್

ಕ್ಯಾಪ್ಟನ್ ಶ್ರೇಣಿಗಿಂತ ಕೆಳಗಿರುವ ಬ್ರಿಟಿಷ್ ನಿಯೋಜಿತ ಸೇನಾ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

കീഴാളൻ

ക്യാപ്റ്റൻ റാങ്കിന് താഴെയുള്ള ഒരു ബ്രിട്ടീഷ് കമ്മീഷൻഡ് ആർമി ഓഫീസർ

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

底层

上尉军衔以下的英国军官

🇯🇵Japanese

サバルタン

英国の士官で大尉以下の階級

🇰🇷Korean

중위

대위 이하의 영국군 장교

🇻🇳Vietnamese

người đứng dưới

một sĩ quan quân đội được ủy quyền của Anh dưới cấp bậc đại úy

🇹🇭Thai

ทางเลือกย่อย

นายทหารชั้นสัญญาบัตรชาวอังกฤษซึ่งมียศต่ำกว่าร้อยเอก

🇮🇩Indonesian

bawahan

seorang perwira militer yang ditugaskan di Inggris dengan pangkat di bawah kapten

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

ثانوي

ضابط في الجيش البريطاني برتبة أقل من نقيب

🇮🇷Persian

فرعی

یک افسر ارتش بریتانیایی زیر درجه کاپیتان

🇹🇷Turkish

madun

yüzbaşı rütbesinin altında İngiliz subayı

🇮🇱Hebrew

קָצִין זוּטָר

קצין צבא בריטי מתחת לדרגת קפטן

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'subaltern'?

The primary meaning of 'subaltern' is 'a British commissioned army officer below the rank of captain'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'subaltern' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'subaltern' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'subaltern' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'subaltern' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'subaltern' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'subaltern' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'subaltern' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'subaltern' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'subaltern' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'subaltern' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted