1
as in decent
of average to below average quality
a second-rate song from a songwriter who has done much better
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inferior
of little or less value or merit
a second-rate company that was never considered among the top manufacturers of televisions
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in cheap
of low quality
second-rate goods specifically manufactured for the low end of the market
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of second-rate
European soccer elitists turn up their noses at the Europa League because of its second-rate status.
—
Alex Tabet, NBC news, 20 May 2025
But even as China emerged as a major car manufacturer, its homegrown brands were still seen as second-rate.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
His cigars weren’t as nasty as his habit of chasing bad money with worse—high living and foolish investments, with second-rate writing meant to plug the gap.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Sometime in the late 18th century, though, offal started suffering from an image problem, viewed by some people to be an affordable but second-rate food.
—Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second-rate
Alex Tabet, NBC news, 20 May 2025
But even as China emerged as a major car manufacturer, its homegrown brands were still seen as second-rate.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
His cigars weren’t as nasty as his habit of chasing bad money with worse—high living and foolish investments, with second-rate writing meant to plug the gap.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Sometime in the late 18th century, though, offal started suffering from an image problem, viewed by some people to be an affordable but second-rate food.
—Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second-rate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for second-rate
Adjective
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Fields had a decent season with the Steelers, going 4-2 before he was replaced by Russell Wilson.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 June 2025
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Start by rolling them on a countertop with a decent amount of pressure; doing so helps release the lemon juice from its membranes.—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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Told that Indigenous people were evolutionarily inferior to white Europeans and Americans, visitors accepted the idea that colonialist progress would soon condemn these groups to extinction.—
Shoshi Parks,
Smithsonian Magazine,
20 June 2025
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The Pacers are just way more inferior and the Thunder got stagnant all of a sudden.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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Bellini noted that hacking operations are much cheaper than bullets, planes or nuclear arms -- what defense analysts call kinetic warfare.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 June 2025
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Introductory pricing: Spectrum’s most affordable plan is much cheaper than AT&T's, at$30 a month compared to AT&T’s $55 a month for 100 and 300 Mbps download speeds,respectively.—
Kara McGinley,
USA Today,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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Harrison, the key player for the Red Sox insofar as immediate return, has been a mediocre (4.48 ERA in 35 starts) mid-rotation starter for the Giants.—
Bill Madden,
New York Daily News,
21 June 2025
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While the pressure will be on for Switzerland to improve their mediocre tournament record, there is only one way to make diamonds (hint: starts with p and ends in ressure).—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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Show more And on Monday, hospital staff accomplished a minor medical feat: doctors birthed triplets in a cesarean section procedure that the delivering physician said would have been complicated and risky even in the best of times.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
20 June 2025
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There were some minor disadvantages to this method, Boyle admits, mostly due to Apple’s user-friendly camera software.—
Jake Kleinman,
Wired News,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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Despite having a poor 2024 season that saw the Pirates remove Bednar from the closer role, the right-hander is back to his dominant form.—
Zach Pressnell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 June 2025
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The key drivers are BGE’s soaring spending and profits and poor management by PJM Interconnection, the private entity that operates our electric grid.—
Emily Scarr,
Baltimore Sun,
29 June 2025
Adjective
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At highway cruising speed, the SUV is satisfactory.—
James Raia,
Mercury News,
16 June 2025
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The sound from the optional Bose 12-speaker upgrade is satisfactory.—
Josh Max,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025
Adjective
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Similarly, the mean costs associated with traveling to access care rose from $179 pre-ban to $372 post-ban.—
Chantelle Lee,
Time,
26 June 2025
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Yosemite Hospitality's overall rating is mean to identify the areas needed for improvement, and NPS did not state if the contract would be terminated.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Second-rate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second-rate. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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