SUPERIORS Synonyms: 13 Similar and Opposite Words

superiors

noun

plural of superior

as in bosses

one who is above another in rank, station, or office if a customer is rude to you, report it to your superior and she'll handle it

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of superiors Where Krick is busy grandstanding, the darling of his men and superiors, the ever unpopular Stagg urges caution. — Daniel Jonah Wolpert, NPR, 29 May 2026 Gradually, Nawal skirts the limits of her job and begins her own investigation, entering spaces and conversations her male superiors either can’t, or might not think to. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 8 June 2026 Abts sent an email to his superiors, and a human resources supervisor, about Husband’s disturbing, uncharacteristic behavior. — Dan Eaton, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 June 2026 For example, women athletes are routinely portrayed as emotional, powerless, and reliant on their coaches or superiors, resulting in their infantilization, all while their men athlete counterparts are framed as rational and confident. — Lindsey Darvin, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026 The investigation, according to the archives, cited several factors as contributing to the tragedy, including Holland’s disregard of procedures, the failure of superiors to take previous action and the inadequate preparation of crew members aboard the doomed plane. — Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 16 June 2026 The president watched Israel assassinate his colleagues and superiors, faced accusations by ultra-conservative hardline politicians of compliance with Iran’s archenemy, the United States, and even oversaw a massive crackdown on protests. — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 12 June 2026 With the North Koreans and the Chinese military bearing down on Incheon in 1951, Casillas was ordered by his superiors to destroy all vital structures in Incheon to keep the infrastructure from falling into enemy hands. — Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 3 June 2026 Investigations, reviews and outside probes In the midst of the overpayment debate, the unemployment insurance division devolved into a series of investigations, reviews of those investigations and spiraling distrust between staff and superiors, labor department documents obtained by The Post show. — Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 31 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for superiors

Noun

His job was to cut and paste responses from scripts his scam bosses generated.

— ABC News, ABC News, 30 June 2026
Some bosses are demanding, disorganized or poor communicators but still want their teams to succeed.

— Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

Definition of bosses

Noun

While choosing the layout, the tribe hosted listening sessions with community members and elders.

— Sarah Liese, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2026
More important for the purposes of the Social Media Minimum Age’s failure is that Aussie youth undeniably know technology better than do their elders in Parliament.

— John Tamny, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

Definition of elders

Noun

In response to what state leaders describe as threats from the federal government, the Minnesota Department of Human Services began the major task of revalidating 5,472 providers across various service programs deemed at high risk for fraud.

— Conor Wight, CBS News, 2 July 2026
This disconnect stems from a lack of psychological safety, where leaders fear speaking up or challenging ideas.

— Tracy Lawrence, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026

Definition of leaders

Noun

During her Lover era, Swift found herself in a public dispute with talent manager Scooter Braun and Big Machine Records over the purchase of the masters of her first six albums.

— Kelsie Gibson, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026
Above all else, in the aftermath of the Eras Tour and Swift reclaiming her masters, what feels most essential to her from a public-facing perspective is image control.

— Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 26 June 2026

Definition of masters

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superiors

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“Superiors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/superiors. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of superiors

noun

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