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
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of second-class
Women deemed second-class citizens.
—
Teresa Leger Fernández, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Ron comes to realize that his fulltime commitment to Jay has nullified his own needs, making his family feel like second-class citizens, especially his justifiably impatient wife Lois (Greta Gerwig).
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
About nine months after assuming power, al-Sharaa’s new regime is struggling to consolidate its authority, in large measure because Syrian minority groups are concerned they will be treated as second-class citizens — or worse — by the Sunni Islamists who now rule Damascus.
—Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
Having second-class citizens of color in a country that touted its democracy and model as the best-in-the-world was a real liability during WWII.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second-class
Teresa Leger Fernández, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Ron comes to realize that his fulltime commitment to Jay has nullified his own needs, making his family feel like second-class citizens, especially his justifiably impatient wife Lois (Greta Gerwig).
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
About nine months after assuming power, al-Sharaa’s new regime is struggling to consolidate its authority, in large measure because Syrian minority groups are concerned they will be treated as second-class citizens — or worse — by the Sunni Islamists who now rule Damascus.
—Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
Having second-class citizens of color in a country that touted its democracy and model as the best-in-the-world was a real liability during WWII.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second-class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for second-class
Adjective
-
Friday marked the All-NBA guard’s first chance to pour it on an inferior foe.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
8 Nov. 2025
-
At the beginning of the industrial revolution, the big bosses considered women inferior to their male counterparts (weaker, more emotional, less reliable, and so forth).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The University of Florida product made a decent impact his rookie season, appearing in 12 games and rushing 38 times for 161 yards and a touchdown.—
Noah Camras,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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Meanwhile, food aboard the International Space Station and the Tiangong leaves much to be desired, with the menus reading like something more suited to iron rations for a Round Britain yacht race than a decent meal.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The only way that such a minor joke would set a fiancée off is if her engagement was already in a delicate place, and that is none of the housewives’ jobs to fix.—
Shamira Ibrahim,
Vulture,
10 Nov. 2025
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The concept alone made headlines across the political aisle when the show was first announced, but the its digital marketing across Instagram and TikTok has turned it into a minor sensation.—
David Zucker,
Deadline,
10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Obviously, fastidious double-entry bookkeeping reduces the margin for error, even in complicated accounts, but more than that, once accounts become commonplace, ordinary people begin to think of the world in terms of accounts.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
5 Nov. 2025
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But this isn’t an ordinary cookbook, one with 30-minute recipes and sensible serving sizes.—
Leah Asmelash,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Pelosi is mean-spirited and vindictive.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
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Protecting her peace proved more difficult, however, when the Queen of Rap began firing off increasingly mean-spirited posts about her on X this past summer.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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To receive the senior rate, a person must apply to the Rogers Water Utilities and present satisfactory proof of age, such as a government issued identification card, driver's license, passport or birth certificate.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Nov. 2025
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His plan and his answers in terms of navigating those name, image, and likeness waters were not viewed satisfactory enough.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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New Glenn is more than 320 feet tall, partially reusable and capable of delivering payloads to low, medium and geosynchronous orbits.—
Matthew Glasser,
ABC News,
8 Nov. 2025
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Meanwhile, stir together chips, butter, and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan in a medium bowl until chips are well coated.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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How mediocre competitively balanced is the East right now?—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
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And an example could have been made with one of the Dolphins’ mediocre starters.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Second-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second-class. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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