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as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard a pretty poor musician, even for a garage band

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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poor quality
lousy quality
inadequate quality
low quality
terrible quality
awful quality
a poor judgment
an unwise judgment
a lousy judgment
a questionable judgment
a horrible judgment
an improper judgment
a poor performance
a weak performance
an unacceptable performance
a negative performance
an inadequate performance
a horrendous performance
a poor condition
a deteriorated condition
a shabby condition
a sub-par condition
a shoddy condition
a pitiful condition
poor nutrition
unbalanced nutrition
improper nutrition
deficient nutrition
unhealthy nutrition
insufficient nutrition

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 poor From the moment the details of the agreement became known, analysts gave the deal a poor prognosis. TIME, 23 Mar. 2025 Besides retirement services, the agency runs programs that provide survivor benefits and disability benefits and supplemental income for the very poor. Ashley Lopez, NPR, 22 Mar. 2025 Similarly, if the foundation shifts due to poor soil condition, excess moisture, or even tree roots, this also creates problems for the entire home. Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Mar. 2025 But there is another concerning trend and area that has to be improved — their poor record on second balls. Rob Tanner, The Athletic, 14 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for poor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poor
Adjective
  • With the dwarfs and bandits by her side, Snow White vows to reclaim her parents’ home and restore peace to her impoverished kingdom.
    Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
  • The homes are part of an ambitious five-year plan, announced in 2021, to build 50,000 additional apartments in Pyongyang, where residents’ quality of life is considerably higher than elsewhere in the impoverished country.
    Oscar Holland, CNN, 19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • That quality is maintained first and foremost by a desolate whistling-wind sound effect in the background of all the scenes, along with a sustained droning musical score.
    Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 14 Mar. 2025
  • But a tire mark left on a desolate road near a missing woman’s car changes everything.
    Ashlee Conour, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • When football resumed, money was scarce and plans for a new bridge into Salford and a car park were delayed.
    Michael Walker, The Athletic, 15 Mar. 2025
  • Majors said he's been taking meetings on a superhero film project, though details were scarce.
    Michileen Martin, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • But this false choice that some are buying instead of fighting is unacceptable.
    Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
  • But for a lot of people following Markle's every move anything other than perfection is unacceptable.
    Alanna Bennett, refinery29.com, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The boys now harbor a terrible secret of their own.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
  • But the point is, every team has a few terrible losses in the course of a season.
    Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • But the modern Democratic Party, rudderless and confused and reeling from a pitiful collective performance during Tuesday evening's presidential joint address to Congress, now confronts a fork in the road that's no joke.
    Newsweek, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
  • My performance was beyond pitiful today, and has been for a while now.
    Ryan Morik, Fox News, 3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Hunter Biden plays the broke card in latest move to fight laptop scandal lawsuit.
    Fox News, Fox News, 6 Mar. 2025
  • But the Democrats still do not get it, which is why Trump should come to their aid by diverting leftover USAID funds to the Democrat Party which is broke and on the verge of becoming as relevant in U.S. politics as Guatemala, Serbia and Egypt.
    Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • This is where the montage sequences get really aggressive, assaulting the viewer with imagery of barren alien landscapes and skulls with the flesh melting off of their faces.
    Katie Rife, IndieWire, 12 Mar. 2025
  • Even along the relatively mild coasts, where summer temperatures hover just below freezing, the land is a barren expanse of rock, ice and snow.
    Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Poor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poor. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.

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