Vocabulary Builder — Essay & Answer Writing
Subaltern
adjective
/ SUB-ul-turn /
Hard
Meaning
Belonging to marginalised groups outside the structures of power whose voices are excluded from dominant narratives.
Origin / Etymology
Latin sub (under) and alternus (every other), originally a junior military rank, repurposed by historians of marginal groups
Synonyms
Marginalised
Subordinated
Voiceless
Antonyms
Dominant
Elite
Hegemonic
Example Sentence
"Subaltern histories recover the role of peasants, tribals and women that colonial archives rendered invisible."
🎯 UPSC Usage
Deploy in GS1 modern history and Essay answers on historiography, marginalisation and bottom-up movements.
Relevant Subjects
