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

• bad
• bastard
• bush
• bush-league
• crummy
• crumby
• deficient
• dissatisfactory
• ill
• inferior
• lame
• lousy
• off
• paltry
• poor
• punk
• sour
• suboptimal
• substandard
• unacceptable
• unsatisfactory
• wack [slang]
• wanting
• wretched
• wrong

Examples of subpar in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

One common critique about Cunningham’s game is his subpar motor. —Mat Issa, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024

However, its subpar graphics and Photoshop performance (that a low-power mobile GPU could fix) cut into that niche. —PCMAG, 27 Sep. 2024

Furthermore, should Trump keep to his promise of not having another debate with Harris, the former president would not only rob Harris the opportunity to pitch her case again on the national stage, but also pigeon hole his subpar performance in the minds of his own base. —Christian Datoc, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 15 Sep. 2024

Even when the movies were subpar, the novelty of experiencing other cultures, or more deeply delving into one’s own, was ever present. —Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above