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
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
Not a deal that reduces us to second-class robots, but one that makes work and life more human, even in the presence of omnipresent AI.
7.
—Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 25 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
On the weekend of August 9, the Okmulgee Roy LeBlanc Invitational Rodeo marks its 70th year, the legacy of two dozen Black businessmen, farmers and ranchers frustrated with the second-class treatment accorded to Black rodeo competitors and their fans in the 1950s.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second-class
Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
Not a deal that reduces us to second-class robots, but one that makes work and life more human, even in the presence of omnipresent AI.
7.
—Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 25 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
On the weekend of August 9, the Okmulgee Roy LeBlanc Invitational Rodeo marks its 70th year, the legacy of two dozen Black businessmen, farmers and ranchers frustrated with the second-class treatment accorded to Black rodeo competitors and their fans in the 1950s.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second-class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for second-class
Adjective
-
Truth is, Cora knows how to beat the Yankees with inferior players, a fact that leaves the top wild-card seed on the doorstep of the unthinkable.—
Ian O'Connor,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Intel’s chip factories are considered inferior to TSMCs.—
Rohan Goswami,
semafor.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Artists and songwriters could earn a decent living with an album that sold even modestly.—
Roy Trakin,
Rolling Stone,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Fallah was productive on a decent Oregon State team, and Coleman was the leading scorer on a last-place Big East team.—
CJ Moore,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Russell’s crash in 2023 showed that a minor mistake can wipe you off the podium.—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
In susceptible people, the immune system reacts too strongly to minor exposures, creating chronic inflammation.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This fungus, usually seen as an ordinary decomposer, shows a remarkable ability to grow into hydrogels, the materials that hold water and mimic the softness of human tissue.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Oct. 2025
-
An intimate portrait of love and exhaustion that finds the comic edge in ordinary chaos.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Even its most mean-spirited plotline, in which a married couple assemble a fake theater production to humiliate their ex-neighbor whose noisiness prompted them to move, is presented as more of a gentle exercise in silliness than anything truly vindictive.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Married Zack Goytowski and Bliss Poureetezadi had one of the stranger journeys on Love Is Blind, mainly because Zack initially broke up with Bliss in favor of Irina Solomonova, who proved herself to be perhaps the meanest contestant in the show's history.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
How many grafts does each zone need to achieve a satisfactory outcome for the eye?—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
-
If someone asks if arrangements are satisfactory?—
Jessica Kozuka,
Travel + Leisure,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In a medium bowl, combine honey, soy sauce and teriyaki sauce and stir into skillet.—
Susan Selasky,
Freep.com,
4 Oct. 2025
-
While the chicken cooks, adjust the heat of the skillet with the chicken drippings to medium-low.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Davis was the second-leading scorer on a mediocre Southern Illinois team.—
CJ Moore,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
-
There are slumps, patches of mediocre play, doldrums of various kinds.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Second-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second-class. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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