as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
a teacher who rejects substandard work without hesitation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of substandard
Last year, the county instructed emergency dispatchers and paramedics to stop routing stroke patients to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana following state findings of substandard care at the financially troubled hospital.
—
Victoria Le, Oc Register, 7 May 2026
For years, athletes and others connected to the Iowa State gymnastics program had raised concerns about the substandard conditions of its practice facility and the overall lack of resources, as USA Today reported in a retrospective last month.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 27 Apr. 2026
This reality is forcing families and individuals to live in substandard conditions or pushing them out of their communities.
—Ryan Von Weller, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2026
Many were found to be substandard, overpriced or were not built at all.
—ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for substandard
Victoria Le, Oc Register, 7 May 2026
For years, athletes and others connected to the Iowa State gymnastics program had raised concerns about the substandard conditions of its practice facility and the overall lack of resources, as USA Today reported in a retrospective last month.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 27 Apr. 2026
This reality is forcing families and individuals to live in substandard conditions or pushing them out of their communities.
—Ryan Von Weller, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2026
Many were found to be substandard, overpriced or were not built at all.
—ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for substandard
Recent Examples of Synonyms for substandard
Adjective
-
The third strand of anti-vaccine advocacy, that compelling vaccine use is unacceptable, is a philosophical claim, not one of fact.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
There is, of course, Itaewon, which is historically more associated with foreigners and other outsiders, where all who are deemed unacceptable are accepted.—
Anton Hur,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
The second didn’t go nearly as well for Bussi as Karlsson and Howden scored on two of the Golden Knights’ six shots in the period to tie the score at 3-3 heading into the third, the tying goal coming off a Seth Jarvis turnover and a couple of poor defensive plays by Sean Walker and K’Andre Miller.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
-
Heat radiates from the pages of this extraordinary novel about a poor family in rural Mississippi in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
Wirskye then asked who was wrong that day.—
Dawn White,
CBS News,
7 June 2026
-
Lauren McCormick, a spokeswoman for travel insurance provider Squaremouth, says your phone is the most efficient tool for protecting your travel investment if things go wrong.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
The Browns are clearly in rebuild mode, with 2026 expected to be a lame-duck season at quarterback with Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders vying for the starting job for a season before the team uses the 2027 draft to select its latest quarterback of the future.—
Jim Reineking,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
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Initially blocked by recalcitrant Democratic members of the House, the legislation was reintroduced during a lame-duck session following the 2024 election.—
Andrew Cockburn,
Harpers Magazine,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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According to clinical literature, the human body lacks the functional gene (GULO) to synthesize ascorbic acid endogenously, meaning our vitamin C pool can be fully depleted within as little as one to three months on a deficient diet.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
-
Many residents spoke during public comment to complain about the county’s traffic and deficient infrastructure, issues that Abruzzo said only will worsen without property taxes.—
Susannah Bryan,
Sun Sentinel,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
Especially defensively, where the Sparks had seemingly been getting worse.—
Marisa Ingemi,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
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The festival begins next week for the World Cup, but part of Poplar Drive is already closed, and some neighbors say the closure is making traffic in the area even worse.—
Ryan Hughes,
CBS News,
7 June 2026
Adjective
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Learning how to be the favorite, who plays under the pressure of expectation, instead of how to be the underdog, who plays with the freedom of the unexpected, can make plenty of players vulnerable against an inferior foe at the business end of a tournament.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
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This has encouraged debates on the extent to which metajournalism is different from—or even inferior to—existing practices of journalism.—
Steve Paulussen,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
28 May 2026
Adjective
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By the time the tournament reached Argentina four years later, though, the Dutch were not quite the slick — if defensively-flawed — outfit that played in 1974.—
Will Jeanes,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
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Talarico can't rebrand his progressive politics with barbecue Democrats are hell-bent on flawed Platner.—
Nicole Russell,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Substandard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/substandard. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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