1
as in inferior
of little or less value or merit
a playwright who produced only second-class work when he turned his hand to poetry
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decent
of average to below average quality
it's only a second-class restaurant and not worth the high prices
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of second-class
Raising girls in a world where women are often treated as second-class citizens isn’t easy.
—
Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 13 Mar. 2025
Free public markets let anyone own anything but retail investors often still feel like second-class citizens in the world of finance.
—Philip Maymin, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
Ever since the Japanese takeover, the islanders have complained of being second-class citizens.
—Martin Fackler, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
Their ascent through the 80s Los Angeles music scene—no easy matter in an industry that treated women like second-class citizens, or worse—and ultimate foundering are meticulously chronicled in Jennifer Otter Bickerdike’s Eternal Flame: The Authorized Biography of The Bangles.
—airmail.news, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second-class
Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 13 Mar. 2025
Free public markets let anyone own anything but retail investors often still feel like second-class citizens in the world of finance.
—Philip Maymin, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
Ever since the Japanese takeover, the islanders have complained of being second-class citizens.
—Martin Fackler, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
Their ascent through the 80s Los Angeles music scene—no easy matter in an industry that treated women like second-class citizens, or worse—and ultimate foundering are meticulously chronicled in Jennifer Otter Bickerdike’s Eternal Flame: The Authorized Biography of The Bangles.
—airmail.news, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second-class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for second-class
Adjective
-
Science popularization should not be considered as inferior to or detracting from traditional scientific research.—
Marshall Shepherd,
Forbes.com,
6 Apr. 2025
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For more than half of Thursday’s Sweet 16 game against Arkansas, Texas Tech looked like the inferior team.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Both of these teams are off to decent starts, as Detroit leads the AL Central and the Yanks have, ahem, torpedoeed their way to a 6-5 record thus far.—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
9 Apr. 2025
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At least, thanks to a decent selection of ports, both machines will easily work with the usual Mac accessories, and both models are outfitted with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Aftershocks are typically minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.—
William B. Davis,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
-
The incident, while ultimately only a minor one, did impact the rest of their vacation.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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During ordinary times, this accommodation would reflect an appropriate respect for the constitutional separation of powers.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Inevitably, skipping ordinary procedural checks, the administration made at least one mistake in deporting Abrego Garcia, and probably many others.—
The Editors,
National Review,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Monitor performance using mean absolute error (MAE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE).—
Devadas Pattathil,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Larsa Pippen found out the hard way what life is like in the mean ‘burbs.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The sound from the optional Bose 12-speaker upgrade is satisfactory.—
Josh Max,
Forbes.com,
7 Apr. 2025
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Yet a great deal remained to be paid with funds expected after the submission of satisfactory progress reports.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Toss in a damp towel or a handful of ice cubes alongside your polyester item, then run the dryer on medium heat for five to ten minutes.—
Katelyn Squiers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
2 Apr. 2025
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Switch the speed to medium and slowly stream in the 3/4 cup olive oil.—
Sarah Martens,
Better Homes & Gardens,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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And most VCs seem to be average or mediocre at best.—
Dileep Rao,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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Milwaukee sits with a mediocre 5-5 record, while New Orleans sits with a 3-7 record.—
John W. Dean,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Second-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second-class. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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