Definition of bush-leaguenext
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard that's just a bush-league ploy to get cast on a TV reality show

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 bush-league With his arm almost out of bullets, Jason Hirsh discovered his second calling in a bush-league bullpen. Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 2 Apr. 2026 While Chad is giving bush-league Sandler, the supporting characters are ripped from the playbook of Ted Lasso—another sports comedy based on a viral bit, not to mention a massively popular show whose title surely figured in the development of Chad Powers. Judy Berman, Time, 26 Sep. 2025 A lot of times, these bush-league but prolific lawbreakers basically got a warning, then another warning, then maybe a couple of months in county. Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024 The script constitutes a string of bush-league errors we’re not supposed to care about, starting with the audience getting way, way out ahead of the characters regarding who’s hiding what. Michael Phillips, Twin Cities, 7 June 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bush-league
Adjective
  • Our current contractor’s price proposal and timeline to finish the bridge was unreasonable and unacceptable.
    Katie Thomson, Baltimore Sun, 6 May 2026
  • What happened was unacceptable.
    Teresa Liu, Daily News, 4 May 2026
Adjective
  • And getting all giddy over some lame light beer that has apple juice poured into to is just plain embarrassing.
    Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
  • This idea that just sitting with your face buried in your phone when you’re supposed to be in a social setting—that’s lame, right?
    Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Wallace and her collaborators scrambled to get into the water; the whale was swimming in the wrong direction, toward some docks.
    Jessica Camille Aguirre, New Yorker, 2 May 2026
  • What most people get wrong is conflating the theme of the exhibition with the dress code for the evening.
    José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 2 May 2026
Adjective
  • Injuries to key players on the Amazin’s contributed to some poor numbers as well.
    Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Although poor students are disproportionately likely to receive special education in New York City, well-off disabled kids are the ones most acutely driving up the budget.
    Marc Novicoff, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Or worse, to turn it into a sort of prison sentence.
    James Wood, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
  • Still, from his horns and tattoos to the double-bladed lightsaber, Maul's bad-guy chic was hard to beat.
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 3 May 2026
Adjective
  • But as Notes from Underground progresses, his behavior turns from funny to pathetic to downright despicable.
    Big Think, Big Think, 29 Apr. 2026
  • Over pinwheeling synths, Mahesh inhabits her narrator’s misplaced longing with gooey, heart-eyed delusion and sweetly pathetic determination.
    Harry Tafoya, Pitchfork, 24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Meanwhile, a prospective cohort study published in March 2026 found that breast cancer patients with sufficient vitamin D had meaningfully better survival and cardiovascular outcomes — and that 38% of women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer were deficient at the time of diagnosis.
    Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Appropriately for a defense-deficient series, the Ducks capitalized on two transition sequences early in the third to take control.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Now, nearly two years later, the school finds itself in a terrible spot, as accusations of serious misconduct arise and an investigation by the athletic department heats up.
    Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 7 May 2026
  • And, betting on terrible outcomes doesn't signify what the better actually wants to happen.
    Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 7 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Bush-league.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bush-league. Accessed 8 May. 2026.

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