Definition of substandardnext
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard a teacher who rejects substandard work without hesitation

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of substandard The federal government has denied allegations of substandard conditions and accused protesters of inflaming tensions. ABC News, 4 June 2026 Despite to this day being a thriving port city and with so many people so close to the sea, Naples has plenty of substandard fish restaurants. Jamie Timson, TheWeek, 27 May 2026 The Department of Homeland Security has denied allegations of substandard conditions. Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 27 May 2026 Calling Southern schools for Black children in the first half of the 20th century substandard to those for white children would be a gross insult to the word substandard. Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for substandard
Recent Examples of Synonyms for substandard
Adjective
  • In their grievance letter, the detainees called the markups an unacceptable business practice with no apparent limit.
    Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • Overt racial prejudice, long considered socially unacceptable, is increasingly visible in public life, marking a shift from previously subtle forms.
    Maia Niguel Hoskin, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Adjective
  • Because of that, these hands suffer from high production costs, poor durability against impacts, short operational lifespans, and there are no existing solutions that engineers can readily draw upon, Wang added.
    John Liu, CNN Money, 30 June 2026
  • The extreme heat can also affect people who are physically ill, especially those with heart disease or high blood pressure, or who take certain medications, such as for depression, insomnia, or poor circulation.
    Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2026
Adjective
  • Something told me that there was something wrong.
    Max Saltman, CNN Money, 28 June 2026
  • The interest rate hypothesis points the wrong direction — the most rate-sensitive occupations, like construction, have the lowest AI exposure.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 27 June 2026
Adjective
  • Stronger and more flavorful than in your original lame iteration?
    Padgett Powell, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026
  • On paper, some of the six, all of whom are far-right conservatives, have enviable educational backgrounds, but the record has proven that each one is openly political and willing to rubber-stamp nearly all of DeSantis’ lame and unconstitutional policies.
    Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 June 2026
Adjective
  • About 220,000 need major repair or replacement, and 41,677 are rated poor, also called structurally deficient.
    Alex Krasnok, Scientific American, 25 June 2026
  • What is often misunderstood is that any of these virtuous behaviors can manifest as deficient vices when underdeveloped and as excess vices when strong but unsupported by the other 10 character dimensions, as evidenced by Steve Jobs.
    Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
Adjective
  • That if you were deemed, as an enslaved person, if you were deemed troublesome or in some way unwanted, you would literally be sold down the river from the more northern states to the deeper south where you would potentially be treated even worse.
    Dana Taylor, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • Offer Real Value, Not Leftovers Most product bundles fail not because the idea is bad but because the execution misses what consumers actually want.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Adjective
  • More broadly, the idea that White players are inherently inferior no longer matches reality.
    Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
  • This is because Austria would have remained on three points but with an inferior goal difference to Iran in the third-place standings (minus one to zero).
    Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 28 June 2026
Adjective
  • The cause was not a cyberattack but a flawed software update, and that is precisely the point.
    Dr. Aditya Vikram Kashyap, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026
  • But this Administration is not interested in making a flawed system work better.
    Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 26 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Substandard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/substandard. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.

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