as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
the service at the restaurant was subpar, to say the least
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Recent Examples of subpar
Without it, espresso shots will always taste subpar.
—
Noah Kaufman, Bon Appetit Magazine, 10 Feb. 2026
While the state’s current collectors operate over 2,113 collection points, they are heavily clustered near hubs like San Francisco and Los Angeles—leaving rural counties, like those in northern and east-central California, with subpar access.
—Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 9 Feb. 2026
In December, Carolina Migrant Network attorney Becca O’Neill told The Charlotte Observer that people inside are also being woken up to eat at strangely early hours and receiving subpar medical care.
—Ryan Oehrli
updated February 6, Charlotte Observer, 6 Feb. 2026
In a video call to his wife, Rafael said the conditions at the Prairieland facility are poor — bathrooms and showers aren’t clean, the lights don’t turn all the way off at night, the medical care is subpar and the meals are very low-protein.
—Lilly Kersh, Dallas Morning News, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for subpar
Noah Kaufman, Bon Appetit Magazine, 10 Feb. 2026
While the state’s current collectors operate over 2,113 collection points, they are heavily clustered near hubs like San Francisco and Los Angeles—leaving rural counties, like those in northern and east-central California, with subpar access.
—Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 9 Feb. 2026
In December, Carolina Migrant Network attorney Becca O’Neill told The Charlotte Observer that people inside are also being woken up to eat at strangely early hours and receiving subpar medical care.
—Ryan Oehrli
updated February 6, Charlotte Observer, 6 Feb. 2026
In a video call to his wife, Rafael said the conditions at the Prairieland facility are poor — bathrooms and showers aren’t clean, the lights don’t turn all the way off at night, the medical care is subpar and the meals are very low-protein.
—Lilly Kersh, Dallas Morning News, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for subpar
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subpar
Adjective
-
The behavior's unacceptable, and so this is our way to try to end it or stop it, at least here in Manteca.—
Charlie Lapastora,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
That is completely unacceptable.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Policymakers globally are increasingly worried that the unequal adoption of AI risks widening income and development gaps between rich and poor countries.—
Hanna Ziady,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
-
In November, Jesse Jackon was hospitalized again after suffering a fall while protesting poor campus living conditions with students at Howard University.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The pursuit ended after Nipp turned off his headlights and drove into the wrong lane in an attempt to lose the officers.—
Josh Kelly,
Oklahoman,
21 Feb. 2026
-
What’s wrong with being uncomfortable and plowing through demanding texts that challenge us to think about bygone times, far-off places and painful emotions, poignantly expressed?—
Patricia Steckler,
Baltimore Sun,
21 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Saying the house is like a character too sounds a bit lame.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
-
That huge war chest would be especially remarkable amassed by a lame-duck president.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The dragon is said to scare away bad spirits and bring good luck.—
Staff report,
Daily News,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Weapon system autonomously detects and classifies moving targets The company revealed that the weapon system autonomously detects and classifies moving targets in poor visibility situations caused by darkness, bad weather, smoke or dust kicked up by helicopters.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Rain Precipitation might be Wuthering Heights the novel’s most canonical liquid as Northern England is a place where basically every single person and living creature is vitamin D deficient.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
-
And perhaps most important, by empowering Congress, not the president, to remedy deficient state electoral schemes, the Constitution prevents presidents from rewriting the election code by executive fiat and thus provides an additional safeguard against military dictatorship.—
Jeffrey Rosen,
The Atlantic,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The question was about the student section’s harassment of former Spartan Xavier Booker, which seemed like a legitimate query considering Booker had a terrible game.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
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The move was expected because Hill, who played for the Chiefs from 2016-‘21 before being traded to the Dolphins, is recovering from a terrible knee injury.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Aston Villa 2-1 Leeds Brentford vs Brighton Brighton are playing better than a horrible run of results — one win, six draws, and six defeats in their last 13 Premier League games — suggests.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Probably one of the scenes where Stephen does horrible things to women.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subpar.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subpar. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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