1
as in inferior
of little or less value or merit
a playwright who produced only second-class work when he turned his hand to poetry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decent
of average to below average quality
it's only a second-class restaurant and not worth the high prices
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of second-class
These are highly competitive guys who, for the most part, don’t like being considered, well, second-class citizens, in a sense.
—
Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2026
The question is, will the Court also rule that women deserve full Equal Protection rights on the grounds that no woman should bleed to death in combat as a second-class citizen?
—Wendy Murphy, Boston Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
The days of Southern Black Christians submitting to second-class treatment in the house of the Lord had ended.
—Literary Hub, 4 Mar. 2026
Anne Madarasz, chief historian and director of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center, says Woodruff was one of just 18 Black athletes who traveled to Berlin that year to represent a country that, in many ways, still treated them as second-class citizens.
—Christopher Derose, CBS News, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for second-class
Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2026
The question is, will the Court also rule that women deserve full Equal Protection rights on the grounds that no woman should bleed to death in combat as a second-class citizen?
—Wendy Murphy, Boston Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
The days of Southern Black Christians submitting to second-class treatment in the house of the Lord had ended.
—Literary Hub, 4 Mar. 2026
Anne Madarasz, chief historian and director of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center, says Woodruff was one of just 18 Black athletes who traveled to Berlin that year to represent a country that, in many ways, still treated them as second-class citizens.
—Christopher Derose, CBS News, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for second-class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for second-class
Adjective
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Learning how to be the favorite, who plays under the pressure of expectation, instead of how to be the underdog, who plays with the freedom of the unexpected, can make plenty of players vulnerable against an inferior foe at the business end of a tournament.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
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This has encouraged debates on the extent to which metajournalism is different from—or even inferior to—existing practices of journalism.—
Steve Paulussen,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
28 May 2026
Adjective
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Give it a really decent mix and that's fine.—
Emily Elias,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
3 June 2026
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Teams are obviously attracted to the combination of size, body, work ethic, leadership, poise, shot and decent skill.—
Scott Wheeler,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
The postmortem highlighted nearly two dozen laws that the city attorney’s office identified as affecting Meridian city business, some requiring minor tweaks to standard practices and others necessitating city-code overhauls.—
Rose Evans
June 6,
Idaho Statesman,
6 June 2026
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His identity is not being made public after Roach issued an order on Friday barring public identification of any minor witnesses.—
Matt Lavietes,
NBC news,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
Antimatter is just a form of matter made of particles that have the same mass as ordinary matter, but opposite charges and quantum properties.—
Christopher Karwin,
The Conversation,
8 June 2026
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Obfuscated servers make your VPN traffic look like ordinary HTTPS web traffic.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
The gaggle of former mean girls who have grown into mean women is in the midst of discussing Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, a choice that initially seems like a clever little Easter Egg.—
Jen Chaney,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
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MacKinnon trusts him, which is no mean feat.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
3 June 2026
Adjective
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The mayor’s office statement indicates that resolution was satisfactory enough to lead to Yancey’s reinstatement to her high-ranking position.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
3 June 2026
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The keyboard on the TravelMate P6 was perfectly satisfactory in my brief stabs at typing.—
John Burek,
PC Magazine,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
These medium candles come in a frosted jar with fragrances composed of essential oils.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
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The hamburger chain announced that on National Hamburger Day, Thursday, May 28, Whataburger Rewards members can order a medium order of fries and a medium drink, either online or by scanning the app in-store, and get a free Whataburger.—
Natassia Paloma,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
Adjective
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Hollywood used to pump out movies as mediocre but occasionally charming as The Breadwinner, buoyed by the always-reliable power of seeing a comedy with a packed audience in a theater.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2026
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With the serve and backhand so well established, a priority this season has been improving Menšík’s relatively mediocre forehand.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Second-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second-class. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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