Definition of unsatisfactory
:not satisfactory
What's Trending Now
More Trending Words
From the M-W Editors
Examples of unsatisfactory in a Sentence
He was fired for unsatisfactory performance.
an unsatisfactory first attempt at building a birdhouse
Recent Examples of unsatisfactory from the Web
-
But what was surprising was that Trump insisted on spending a good half-hour revisiting in painful detail his three sets of comments — all of them unsatisfactory in one fashion or the other — about the violence in Charlottesville.
-
They were courted and gulled by the Clintons and the Obamas and even today show little recognition of how unsatisfactory their administrations were in many respects.
-
AHRC member John Burnham said that in past years, the race has had anywhere from six to 18 entries, but this year, there were only four, probably due to the race being postponed from late June due to unsatisfactory water testing results.
-
Marlow did, however, find that Batie was in violation of rules and gave unsatisfactory performance by not correcting a culture of inappropriate behavior.
-
One other key difference: Faced with growing abuse by customers, REI a few years ago jettisoned its return-unsatisfactory-merchandise-anytime policy, limiting returns to a still-generous one year.
-
My white clay cat test creation was mostly unsatisfactory, while a fabric rose proved a bit better, if dark.
-
Higher status dogs and wolves reacted more strongly and more quickly to not receiving treats or receiving unsatisfactory treats, suggesting that inequity is related to strong hierarchies in wolf and dog packs.
-
Since Iraq’s founding, its Kurds have always had a difficult relationship with the central government; a series of revolts have either been crushed, sometimes with great brutality, or ended in unsatisfactory compromises.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'unsatisfactory.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of unsatisfactory
circa 1650
unsatisfactory Synonyms
Synonyms
bastard, bush, bush-league, crummy (also crumby), deficient, dissatisfactory, ill, inferior, lame, lousy, off, paltry, poor, punk, sour, suboptimal, subpar, substandard, unacceptable, bad, wack [slang], wanting, wretched, wrongAntonyms
acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, fine, OK (or okay), passable, respectable, satisfactory, standard, tolerableRelated Words
abysmal, atrocious, awful, bitchin' [slang], brutal, damnable, deplorable, detestable, disastrous, dreadful, execrable, gnarly [slang], horrendous, horrible, pathetic, stinky, sucky [slang], terrible, unspeakable; defective, faulty, flawed; egregious, flagrant, gross; bum, cheesy, coarse, common, crappy [slang], cut-rate, junky, lesser, low-grade, low-rent, mediocre, miserable, reprehensible, rotten, rubbishy, second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, trashy; abominable, odious, vile; useless, valueless, worthless; inadequate, insufficient, lacking, meager (or meagre), mean, miserly, niggardly, scanty, shabby, short, skimp, skimpy, spare, stingy; miscreant, scurrilous, villainous; counterfeit, fake, phony (also phoney), shamNear Antonyms
classic, classical; A1, bang-up, banner, boss [slang], capital, choice, crackerjack, dandy, divine, excellent, exceptional, fabulous, fine, first-class, first-rate, grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-test, jim-dandy, keen, marvelous (or marvellous), mean, neat, nifty, noble, par excellence, perfect, premium, prime, sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-notch, unsurpassed, wonderful; better, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, special, sufficient; average, borderline, fair, mediocre, middling, minimal, so-so, unexceptional; suitable, useful, worthy; gratifying, satisfyingUNSATISFACTORY Defined for English Language Learners
unsatisfactory
play
adjective
Definition of unsatisfactory for English Language Learners
-
: not good enough : not satisfactory
UNSATISFACTORY Defined for Kids
unsatisfactory
play
adjective
un·sat·is·fac·to·ry
\
ˈən-ˌsa-təs-ˈfak-tə-rē
\
Definition of unsatisfactory for Students
:not what is needed or expected
- His behavior in class has been unsatisfactory.
—
unsatisfactorily
\-rə-lē\ adverbLearn More about unsatisfactory
-
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for unsatisfactory Spanish Central: Translation of unsatisfactory Nglish: Translation of unsatisfactory for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of unsatisfactory for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up unsatisfactory? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!