inferiority complex
noun
1
: an acute sense of personal inferiority often resulting either in timidity or through overcompensation in exaggerated aggressiveness
2
: a collective sense of cultural, regional, or national inferiority
Example Sentences
His shyness is the result of an inferiority complex.
Recent Examples on the Web No doubt Sontag would have recognized that the series’ Anglophile novelty (despite rampant contempt for Western patriarchy) also plays into the inferiority complex that still oppresses Americans. 
Armond White, National Review, 24 Aug. 2022 In Ukrainka’s play, Oksana’s husband is servile, obligingly performing Ukrainian songs and dances for the czar’s entertainment, while the artist in Zabuzhko’s novel is wracked by an inferiority complex familiar to citizens of dominated nations. Uilleam Blacker, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2022 One downside is that this shift, along with China’s explosive economic development, has flipped an inferiority complex into triumphalism. Hugo Restall, WSJ, 1 Mar. 2022 Softball has struggled with an inferiority complex for years. Lori Riley, courant.com, 15 Nov. 2021 For 88 years, Spain didn’t beat Italy in a competitive match and an inferiority complex naturally grew. Tim Bielik, cleveland, 6 July 2021 Like all egomaniacs, his insufferable superiority complex comes entangled with a devastating inferiority complex; ambition and supremacy are matched by self-loathing and anger. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 23 Aug. 2021 For 88 years, Spain didn’t beat Italy in a competitive match and an inferiority complex naturally grew. Tim Bielik, cleveland, 6 July 2021 Dottie walks her home and tries to console her, but Kit is clearly riding an inferiority complex wave that cannot be stopped. Emma Specter, Vogue, 6 Aug. 2021 See More
Armond White, National Review, 24 Aug. 2022 In Ukrainka’s play, Oksana’s husband is servile, obligingly performing Ukrainian songs and dances for the czar’s entertainment, while the artist in Zabuzhko’s novel is wracked by an inferiority complex familiar to citizens of dominated nations. Uilleam Blacker, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2022 One downside is that this shift, along with China’s explosive economic development, has flipped an inferiority complex into triumphalism. Hugo Restall, WSJ, 1 Mar. 2022 Softball has struggled with an inferiority complex for years. Lori Riley, courant.com, 15 Nov. 2021 For 88 years, Spain didn’t beat Italy in a competitive match and an inferiority complex naturally grew. Tim Bielik, cleveland, 6 July 2021 Like all egomaniacs, his insufferable superiority complex comes entangled with a devastating inferiority complex; ambition and supremacy are matched by self-loathing and anger. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 23 Aug. 2021 For 88 years, Spain didn’t beat Italy in a competitive match and an inferiority complex naturally grew. Tim Bielik, cleveland, 6 July 2021 Dottie walks her home and tries to console her, but Kit is clearly riding an inferiority complex wave that cannot be stopped. Emma Specter, Vogue, 6 Aug. 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
1922, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Medical Definition
inferiority complex
noun
: an acute sense of personal inferiority resulting either in timidity or through overcompensation in exaggerated aggressiveness