as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
a teacher who rejects substandard work without hesitation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Either way, these tech vendors had established a history of getting customers to adopt substandard technology in order to close a deal.
—
Chris Degnan, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
For such a popular restaurant, Matsuri tolerates a lot of flies, unwashed walls and substandard handwashing, as detailed in a Miami Herald story this week on last week’s inspection.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
The layoffs come after some workers, who were being outsourced from a company called GlobalLogic, voiced concerns around substandard wages and working conditions, and started to discuss ways to organize into a union.
—Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
It was created to address urban problems, including substandard and deteriorating housing, and to coordinate federal housing and urban development policies more effectively.
—Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for substandard
Chris Degnan, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
For such a popular restaurant, Matsuri tolerates a lot of flies, unwashed walls and substandard handwashing, as detailed in a Miami Herald story this week on last week’s inspection.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
The layoffs come after some workers, who were being outsourced from a company called GlobalLogic, voiced concerns around substandard wages and working conditions, and started to discuss ways to organize into a union.
—Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
It was created to address urban problems, including substandard and deteriorating housing, and to coordinate federal housing and urban development policies more effectively.
—Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for substandard
Recent Examples of Synonyms for substandard
Adjective
-
Denying people the essentials necessary for their survival, to obtain compliance or a political agreement, should be unacceptable.—
Anna Halford,
Time,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Controversy arose earlier this year after residents, a council member and the mayor declared a cooling station set up for homeless residents and others without adequate heating and cooling as unacceptable.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The Ministry of Environment blamed this year’s surge on a poor acorn harvest – which drove a similar spate of attacks in 2023.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Rather, the slow start (by Ovechkin’s standards) to this season seemed due more to poor puck luck.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
While most plot details remain under wraps, The Hollywood Reporter previously revealed that one plot point centers on the son of Stiller and Polo’s characters, who gets engaged to a ball-busting woman who seems all wrong for him.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Nov. 2025
-
The right kiss will save them, but the wrong one will kill them.—
Brittany Johnson,
PEOPLE,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Cut to Culhane doing lame bits with chopsticks as walrus teeth.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Add in coach Steve Kerr willingly working on a lame-duck contract, and the Warriors could be looking for a new path forward within the year of saying hello to Butler, meaning that smell around Chase Center is one of desperation.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
That isn't because Buffalo is more deficient at wideout than other positions, with reasonable talents like Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir and Joshua Palmer all serving in starting roles.—
Max Dible,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Oct. 2025
-
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
Adjective
-
Democrats are favored to win both gubernatorial races this year, so a GOP upset in either state would be a bad sign for the party currently locked out of power in Washington.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Nick Saban certainly made more good decisions than bad ones during his run to seven national championships as a college football coach.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
That's one child experiencing death by a thousand cuts with these inferior sequels.—
Chris Snellgrove,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Oct. 2025
-
But grit and resolve can only take a team so far when its active roster is inferior to many of its opponents, and that is the situation the red and gold currently face.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
As Kikuo’s mentor and Shunsuke’s father, Watanabe brings gravitas to a character no less flawed, and just as persuasive.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The survey polled 16,946 Americans, who self-reported their height and weight, then Gallup relied on body mass index (BMI) calculations — the historically flawed measurement traditionally used by medical professionals to determine healthy weight ranges — to determine who qualified as obese.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Substandard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/substandard. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share