substandard
adjective
sub·stan·dard
ˌsəb-ˈstan-dərd 
: deviating from or falling short of a standard or norm: such as
a
: of a quality lower than that prescribed by law
substandard housing
b
: conforming to a pattern of linguistic usage existing within a speech community but not that of the prestige group in that community
c
: constituting a greater than normal risk to an insurer
Examples of substandard in a Sentence
a teacher who rejects substandard work without hesitation
Recent Examples on the Web
Either way, these tech vendors had established a history of getting customers to adopt substandard technology in order to close a deal.
—
Chris Degnan, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
For such a popular restaurant, Matsuri tolerates a lot of flies, unwashed walls and substandard handwashing, as detailed in a Miami Herald story this week on last week’s inspection.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
The layoffs come after some workers, who were being outsourced from a company called GlobalLogic, voiced concerns around substandard wages and working conditions, and started to discuss ways to organize into a union.
—Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
It was created to address urban problems, including substandard and deteriorating housing, and to coordinate federal housing and urban development policies more effectively.
—Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for substandard
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Chris Degnan, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
For such a popular restaurant, Matsuri tolerates a lot of flies, unwashed walls and substandard handwashing, as detailed in a Miami Herald story this week on last week’s inspection.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
The layoffs come after some workers, who were being outsourced from a company called GlobalLogic, voiced concerns around substandard wages and working conditions, and started to discuss ways to organize into a union.
—Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
It was created to address urban problems, including substandard and deteriorating housing, and to coordinate federal housing and urban development policies more effectively.
—Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for substandard
Cite this Entry
“Substandard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/substandard. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
substandard
adjective
sub·stan·dard
ˌsəb-ˈstan-dərd
ˈsəb-
1
: varying from or falling short of a standard or norm
substandard housing
2
: following a pattern of linguistic usage that is not considered standard
substandard English
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share