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

Synonyms

• unacceptable
• poor
• lame
• wrong
• deficient
• bad
• flawed

Examples of substandard in a Sentence

a teacher who rejects substandard work without hesitation

Recent Examples on the Web

For more than a dozen years, the Food and Drug Administration quietly allowed substandard foreign factories to continue shipping medications to the United States even after the agency officially banned them from doing so because of dangerous manufacturing failures. —Debbie Cenziper, ProPublica, 13 Aug. 2025

CoreCivic, the for-profit company that operates the prison, vehemently denied the allegations of substandard conditions. —Laura Gersony, AZCentral.com, 7 Aug. 2025

Orange County has instructed emergency dispatchers and paramedics to stop routing stroke patients to Orange County Global Medical Center following complaints and state findings of substandard care at the financially troubled hospital. —Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 17 July 2025

While Sono Bello boasts that the vast majority of its patients are satisfied, court records show that allegations of substandard medical care have trailed its rapid growth. —Fred Schulte, Miami Herald, 29 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for substandard

• meandered
• nonstandard
• slandered
• standard

Kids 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

Legal Definition

substandard

adjective

sub·​stan·​dard

: deviating from or falling short of a standard or norm: as

a

: of a quality lower than that prescribed by law

b

: constituting a greater than normal risk to an insurer