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
Jerry KirshenbaumBecause of phylloxera, vineyards have been inconsistent and yielding subpar grapes.—James Laube
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
David Barrett… Augusta National never played easier. … Saturday's 30 subpar rounds broke a third-round tournament record …—John Garrity
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.
Examples of subpar in a Sentence
the service at the restaurant was subpar, to say the least
Recent Examples on the Web
The subpar scoring trend is not likely to stop this week, so keep Charbonnet and Walker on the fantasy bench, if possible.
—Kc Joyner, New York Times, 17 Dec. 2025
Specifically, use subpar computer code, the kind of code that results in minor security vulnerabilities.
—Michael Moyer, Quanta Magazine, 16 Dec. 2025
Visiting Hollywood lions, like Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks, disappointed us with subpar stuff, and even such Broadway stalwarts as Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel stumbled.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2025
As the tournament approaches, some Kansas Citians have raised concerns over the condition of some short-term rentals, price-gouging, or, at the very least, offering subpar properties for premium prices.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 10 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subpar
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Kc Joyner, New York Times, 17 Dec. 2025
Specifically, use subpar computer code, the kind of code that results in minor security vulnerabilities.
—Michael Moyer, Quanta Magazine, 16 Dec. 2025
Visiting Hollywood lions, like Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks, disappointed us with subpar stuff, and even such Broadway stalwarts as Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel stumbled.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2025
As the tournament approaches, some Kansas Citians have raised concerns over the condition of some short-term rentals, price-gouging, or, at the very least, offering subpar properties for premium prices.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 10 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subpar
Cite this Entry
“Subpar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subpar. Accessed 24 Dec. 2025.
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