inferiority complex

[ in-feer-ee-awr-i-tee kom-pleks, -or- ]

noun

, Psychology.

1. an intense feeling of inferiority or inadequacy; low self-esteem, sometimes characterized by compensatory behaviors intended to bolster self-confidence. Compare superiority complex ( def ).

inferiority complex

noun

1. psychiatry a disorder arising from the conflict between the desire to be noticed and the fear of being humiliated, characterized by aggressiveness or withdrawal into oneself

Word History and Origins

Origin of inferiority complex¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

He’s a walking inferiority complex, compensating with random acts of violence, like a Caligula fanboy, and looks ready at any minute to pop off like Vesuvius.

From Los Angeles Times

If you thought they were beefing over some rapper inferiority complexes — you were wrong.

From Salon

“There’s so many people that have an inferiority complex about, ‘We’re the University of Houston.’

From Seattle Times

“I believe that when that structure in Ayodhya was brought down,” Mr. Kumar, a soft-spoken lawyer, said in an interview, “the inferiority complex of the Hindu race went away.”

From New York Times

Eventually, though, the idea of Napoleon got wrapped up in ideas of popular psychology, nudged along by one of the most famous psychological concepts of all time: the “inferiority complex.”

From National Geographic