ˌsəb-ˈäp-tə-məl
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
yes, living on junk food generally means that you have a suboptimal diet
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of suboptimal
Even though the Red Sox had Thursday off after Wednesday’s unpleasant bullpen loss at Fenway the night before, Tolle’s short start was suboptimal.
—
Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
Washington and New Delhi must do more than simply restore the old, suboptimal status quo.
—Kurt M. Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2025
The Cygnus spacecraft compensated for its suboptimal position on the ISS by using its steerable main engine, using gimbals to move the engine's nozzle to direct its thrust in the right direction.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 25 Aug. 2025
McCarthy’s torn meniscus came at a suboptimal time.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for suboptimal
Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
Washington and New Delhi must do more than simply restore the old, suboptimal status quo.
—Kurt M. Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2025
The Cygnus spacecraft compensated for its suboptimal position on the ISS by using its steerable main engine, using gimbals to move the engine's nozzle to direct its thrust in the right direction.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 25 Aug. 2025
McCarthy’s torn meniscus came at a suboptimal time.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for suboptimal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suboptimal
Adjective
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The New York State GOP Executive Committee then voted unanimously to revoke the Young Republicans’ charter on October 17, 2025, citing mismanagement and condemning the language as unacceptable in the party or its affiliates.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Oct. 2025
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Others are preaching patience, but acknowledge that the status quo is unacceptable.—
Scott Dochterman,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Porter has been a lead creator before, but that was on cellar-dwelling Houston Rockets squads that became a breeding ground for poor habits.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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Young people want better governance and are fed up with suffering from poor services and economies while their leaders get rich around them and inequality grows.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Twin Cities,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Human nature, however, urges us to do the exact wrong thing.—
Steve Booren,
Denver Post,
19 Oct. 2025
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There's a quote from The Office that's always stuck with me for all the wrong reasons.—
Katherine Polcari,
Southern Living,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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My only complaint is that the light blue stripes on the arm look printed, not stitched, which is kinda lame.—
The Athletic NHL Staff,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
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Another main issue is that the power grind itself now being the endgame is no longer a good motivator to play, nor is the Tier system with 3s not much different than 4s or 5s, and all past weapons being somewhat lame now outside of that system entirely.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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So sorry, fantasy coaches and anybody that bet on me, my bad.—
Michael Nowels,
Mercury News,
20 Oct. 2025
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Joseph had maybe his worst day of the year.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In the meantime, Jones has been carrying a run-deficient offense to the tune of 313 yards per game — the most in the NFL.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
16 Oct. 2025
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At least 1,235 miles of the city’s sidewalks, or about 40%, are considered deficient.—
Elliott Wenzler,
Denver Post,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Now, though, voters have a fresh chance to do unwrap a flawed narrative and bring the broader issue out of the shadows.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
17 Oct. 2025
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Most of the older studies on grapefruit for weight loss were small and flawed.—
Brittany Lubeck,
Verywell Health,
17 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Suboptimal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suboptimal. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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