subpar

adjective

sub·​par ˈsəb-ˌpär 

variants or less commonly sub-par

chiefly US

: below par: such as

a

: below a usual or normal level or standard

subpar attendance

a subpar performance

Why would a major football school fire a successful coach following a single subpar season?

—Jerry Kirshenbaum

Because of phylloxera, vineyards have been inconsistent and yielding subpar grapes.

—James Laube

b

golf : having a score lower than par

His 19 birdies and two eagles gave him more subpar holes than anyone …

—David Barrett

… Augusta National never played easier. … Saturday's 30 subpar rounds broke a third-round tournament record …

—John Garrity

Did you know?

Since sub- means "below", almost anything that fails to measure up to a traditional standard may be called subpar. So you may hear of subpar ratings for a TV show, subpar care at a nursing home, subpar attendance at a concert, or subpar work by a contractor. If you played a subpar round of golf, though, you needed more strokes than you should have.

Synonyms of subpar

• unacceptable
• poor
• wrong
• lame
• bad
• deficient
• terrible
• horrible
• awful
• flawed
• substandard
• disastrous

Examples of subpar in a Sentence

the service at the restaurant was subpar, to say the least

Recent Examples on the Web

Injuries, subpar performances by Rams players and coaches, and outstanding clutch play by opponents — see the 2025 Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks — could derail the Rams’ presumptive date with destiny. — Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026

James and others at Literacy Roundup believe there are hundreds of students across Tarrant County with undiagnosed dyslexia, which is one of the reasons for subpar reading scores in Fort Worth ISD and other neighboring districts. — Samuel O’Neal 22, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 July 2026

If that’s the impact of a subpar season for a secondary sport, the cost of an apathetic November without College Football Playoff dreams would be even more damaging for the sushi joints and clothing shops that rise and fall on football weekends. — Matt Baker, New York Times, 17 July 2026

Not only had Arraez been a subpar defender, but San Francisco was filled with groundball pitchers such as Logan Webb and Landen Roupp. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 13 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for subpar

• adar
• afar
• ajar
• alar
• alvar
• bazaar
• bizarre
• boxcar
• boyar
• bulbar
• cachar
• cigar