as in wrong
falling short of a standard this work is entirely unacceptable

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of unacceptable Some in the Democrat Party and bad people found this totally unacceptable. Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 26 Apr. 2025 State law requires Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to take action against school districts that have campuses with five consecutive years of unacceptable ratings. Silas Allen, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Apr. 2025 Shapiro told reporters at a news conference on April 16 that regardless of the motivation for the crime, political violence must be condemned as unacceptable in our society. Riley Beggin, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025 Any format that builds in a conflict of interest is unacceptable. Robert Greene, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for unacceptable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unacceptable
Adjective
  • But even one in three Republicans said their cost of living was on the wrong track, according to the poll, which surveyed 4,306 U.S. adults nationwide between April 16 and April 21.
    Jason Lange, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Many security breaches occur not because of faulty authorization code, but because the wrong people have been granted access due to human errors and poor visibility.
    Arie Abramovici, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Consumer spending softened, increasing 1.8%, down from a 4% rise in the fourth quarter, but a decent performance in light of stock market turmoil and poor weather early in the quarter.
    Paul Davidson, USA Today, 1 May 2025
  • Still, some of the behavioral risks resemble sports betting, including the potential for addiction, poor money management and loss chasing, unrealistic expectations of success, and inappropriate reactions to negative results.
    Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.
    Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2021
  • My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.
    Tim Neville, Outside Online, 23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
  • President Donald Trump intends to completely reimagine U.S. trade relations with our closest partners and fiercest rivals, for better or worse.
    Charles Singh, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025
  • Monday started inauspiciously when Davion Mitchell threw a bad pass to Kel’el Ware; Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen intercepted and dunked in transition.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The Mount Zion Road/Columbia Hollow bridge was part of the 2017 county bridge plan to replace 15 bridges deemed structurally deficient by the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 9 Apr. 2025
  • While this option can work for people who are deficient in vitamin A, according to experts, vaccination is the only way to prevent measles, as vitamin A is not an alternative.
    Angelica Stabile, Fox News, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Big, wonderful, funny, horrible, strange, sad, great life.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 1 May 2025
  • One of our group hunted it on a rainy afternoon — traditionally a horrible time to bag a bird — and killed a 3-year-old tom. —A.M. Don’t Become Overly Reliant on Your Cameras Cameras aren’t magic.
    Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 1 May 2025
Adjective
  • Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Before the turn of the year, Manchester City were stuck in an awful rut.
    Sam Tighe, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Back when Michael Jordan owned the team, the Hornets once went 7-59 in a season so awful that a movie got made about it.
    Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • United have fallen massively and it’s been a terrible watch all season, bar a couple of highs.
    Andy Mitten, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
  • Public interest in the film intensified after a stroke of terrible happenstance.
    Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Unacceptable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unacceptable. Accessed 6 May. 2025.

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