as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard the service at the restaurant was subpar, to say the least

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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 subpar Allen got the benefit of a rather subpar division, clinching the AFC East Dec. 1. Ryan Morik, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2025 Van Ness, on the other hand, has just been consistently subpar. Rob Reischel, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025 Fields wasn’t surrounded by the best talent in Chicago, with subpar weapons and an offensive line that constantly had him on roller skates. Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 11 Mar. 2025 The Diamondbacks may even have to take on some of his salary to move him following a subpar season. Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for subpar
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subpar
Adjective
  • Defense stocks were once considered socially unacceptable investments, but fund managers are slowly changing tack as the sector has rallied in recent years.
    Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Forcing Americans and small independent American companies to rely on those same tools is an unacceptable outcome of domestic legislation.
    Emma Woollacott, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • There’s a real debate to be had about what responsibility better-off neighborhoods like Hyde Park have to help solve humanitarian problems that often are laid at the feet of poorer areas.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2025
  • Job loss also results in people experiencing higher levels of depressive symptoms, poor health, loss of social support, and disruption of social and family ties, according to Jennie E Brand, author of The Far-Reaching Impact of Job Loss and Unemployment.
    Paul Klein, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.
    Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2021
  • My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.
    Tim Neville, Outside Online, 23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
  • In the case of the Ruscha photographs, computer vision was simply wrong.
    Sonja Drimmer, Artforum, 1 Apr. 2025
  • Meanwhile, advocates are watching closely, concerned that the wrong move could result in a fallout that decimates Connecticut’s paltry infant and toddler care system, supports too-few households, or depends on a source of money that is vulnerable to shifting economic winds.
    Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • What happened was my bad behavior and my angst brought the energy finally.
    Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 5 Apr. 2025
  • Hundreds of homes were damaged when a bad rainstorm hit in 2023.
    Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Those studies show that supplementing with vitamin A in people who are deficient can lead to milder infections with diseases like measles.
    Alice Park, TIME, 3 Mar. 2025
  • Kraken was also accused of having deficient internal controls and record keeping.
    Jonathan Stempel, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The rhetoric pushed here is that someone with a high body count has less value and will either make a terrible partner or no one will want them in the first place.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
  • This is great news for our model but terrible for upsets.
    Jordan Brenner, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • But then two horrible shifts by the Wild turned the game upside down in the blink of an eye.
    Michael Russo, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2025
  • Some veterans have impressed at the midpoint of coach Mike Norvell's spring-practice rebuilding as FSU aims to recover from last year's horrible campaign.
    Bob Ferrante, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Subpar.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subpar. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.

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