as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard this report is completely dissatisfactory on several counts

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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 dissatisfactory This creates a dissatisfactory customer experience for the 90% of people stopped who actually paid for their items. Guy Yehiav, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024 Life Decisions Can Change Decisions taken in the shadow of childhood experiences may result in dissatisfactory lives. Fatih Elibol, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2023 Set primarily in the South, Plattner’s vignettes provide intimate glimpses into a series of singular events that, when strung together, paint a larger picture of the melancholic and frequently dissatisfactory state of existing in the modern world. Leah Tyler, ajc, 30 May 2022 In ThedaCare’s case, an attorney described dissatisfactory management and positions in which employees had been chronically underpaid. Molly Osberg, The New Republic, 25 Jan. 2022 Inter Miami fell to CF Montreal 2-0 in their third game at DRV PNK Stadium this season thanks to a first-half performance coach Phil Neville said was dissatisfactory. Khobi Price, sun-sentinel.com, 13 May 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissatisfactory
Adjective
  • In April 2021, the European Commission proposed a draft of the Artificial Intelligence Act, aimed at introducing a system of AI classification based on risks to users (minimal, limited, high, unacceptable).
    Olena Orliuk, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
  • Adams said that such outside interference on a group of experts who are supposed to be able to review science free from political influence sets an unacceptable standard.
    Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 16 June 2025
Adjective
  • Using the wrong cleaners, such as ammonia and glass cleaner, can cause permanent streaks and damage.
    Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 23 June 2025
  • Effective leaders recognize that different doesn’t mean wrong.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
Adjective
  • Due to poor cell reception in the area, 911 calls kept dropping as witnesses scrambled to reach first responders.
    Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 17 June 2025
  • Orlik, who was seventy-seven, was in poor health and desperate to get his pictures back.
    Sam Knight, New Yorker, 17 June 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
  • After several months of strong economic news but incredibly weak consumer sentiment, America is starting to see those trends reverse: The vibes are on the rebound, but evidence is mounting that the economy is getting worse.
    David Goldman, CNN Money, 28 June 2025
  • In your garden, stink bugs can be a real bad problem...
    Steve Bender, Southern Living, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • If a person is not deficient in iron, too much iron can cause significant problems.5 3.
    Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 23 June 2025
  • Noted: Nearly 1 in 4 Americans is deficient in Vitamin D.
    Hannah Yasharoff, USA Today, 17 June 2025
Adjective
  • Since 2023, there have been mechanisms by which second division, or Liga Expansión, teams can join Liga MX — through meeting certain criteria — but the system is complicated, woolly and unsatisfactory.
    Phil Hay, New York Times, 29 May 2025
  • Conventional assumptions held that Israel will refrain from any action until those negotiations either failed altogether or concluded in unsatisfactory fashion—and that, if a deal with the Islamic Republic was struck, no Israeli military action would be forthcoming at all.
    Ilan Berman, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 June 2025
Adjective
  • Skipping this governance checkpoint essentially means letting people create powerful and untested tools for decision making, which could be disastrous to an organization’s future success.
    Larry English, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
  • Trading away Jokic would be disastrous, and the thought of it is just as bad.
    Ricardo Klein, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Dissatisfactory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissatisfactory. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.

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