as in diminutive
of a size that is less than average
because of the summer drought, harvests have definitely been subnormal this year
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Recent Examples of subnormal
Quite simply, normal human consciousness is optimized for normal human functioning, but is subnormal for achieving goals beyond the ordinary.
—
Brett Steenbarger, Forbes, 30 May 2021
Flow off the 50-degree waters of Lake Michigan will bring our first subnormal temperatures in 10 days.
—Tom Skilling, chicagotribune.com, 31 May 2018
Everybody knew that comics were for children and for intellectually subnormal people, whereas graphic novel sounds like a much more sophisticated proposition.
—Adam Rogers, WIRED, 23 Feb. 2009
Brett Steenbarger, Forbes, 30 May 2021
Flow off the 50-degree waters of Lake Michigan will bring our first subnormal temperatures in 10 days.
—Tom Skilling, chicagotribune.com, 31 May 2018
Everybody knew that comics were for children and for intellectually subnormal people, whereas graphic novel sounds like a much more sophisticated proposition.
—Adam Rogers, WIRED, 23 Feb. 2009
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subnormal
Adjective
-
The diminutive restaurant is about as no-nonsense inside as out.—
Sean Timberlake,
Sacbee.com,
19 June 2026
-
Even still, most of its diminutive size was just plastic packaging, encasing the far tinier, unfathomably dense network of billions of transistors embedded in silicon.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 June 2026
Adjective
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After selling baklava at the Stock Show, the Unlus rented their first resraurant space in a small Eighth Avenue food hall.—
Bud Kennedy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 June 2026
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The Virgo moon asks you to focus on the small tasks.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
20 June 2026
Adjective
-
There, officers found the little girl with severe, life-threatening injuries.—
Kaicey Baylor,
CBS News,
21 June 2026
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Contrary to popular belief, the central bank has little influence over home loan rates.—
Rachel Barber,
USA Today,
21 June 2026
Adjective
-
There is a real distinction between a city unified by five fine starting players in a game that originally involved throwing a ball into a peach basket and that, however improbably, became the city game, and the bloody display in the nation’s capital.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
21 June 2026
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Los Angeles County health officer Muntu Davis said the main public health concern was smoke and fine particles that can cause temporary irritation of the ear, nose, throat and lungs, as well as exacerbate heart and lung conditions.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subnormal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subnormal. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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