substandard
Something substandard is below standard — it’s shoddy or inferior. If your final paper for honors English class is scribbled on a torn sheet of notebook paper, that’s substandard work that you’ll probably have to do over.
A standard is a quality by which something is judged, and sub can mean “under” like a submarine that goes under water. So things that are substandard fall below most people's standards — they're deficient in some way. A computer that stops working after two weeks is substandard. A car with faulty brakes is substandard. Substandard things are the opposite of well-made things. Turning in substandard work is a good way to get a bad grade.
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falling short of some prescribed norm“substandard housing”nonstandardvarying from or not adhering to a standard
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Vocabulary lists containing substandard
There are so many great words for awful things. Is it unpleasant, a little off, or unspeakably evil? Learn this list and use your vocabulary powers for good! For more synonym lists, explore our Say What You Mean resources.
Learn these words beginning with the prefix sub, meaning "below" or "under."
Learn these words beginning with the prefix sub, meaning "below" or "under."