subpar

[suhb-pahr]

adjective

1. below an average, usual, or normal level, quality, or the like; below par.

   This month his performance has been subpar.

Word History and Origins

Origin of subpar¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; sub- ( def. ) + par ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Back then, Bellinger was coming off two straight years of subpar performance in the wake of a shoulder surgery following the 2020 World Series.

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I wouldn’t be surprised if, after several years of subpar economic performance, Beijing has a one-time pickup in growth.

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By putting her in a tie for last, I was saying she was one of two undifferentiated children so subpar that neither even merited fourth place.

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The result wasn’t industrial strength but a flood of overpriced subpar goods, chronic inefficiency, and economic stagnation.

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People in South Asia haven’t lost faith in democracy, but they appear increasingly fed up with subpar governance.

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Related Words

• feeble 
• inferior 
• insufficient 
• meager 
• mediocre 
• miserable 
• modest 
• ordinary 
• shoddy 
• substandard 
• unsatisfactory 
• weak