substandard

American  

[suhb-stan-derd] / sʌbˈstæn dərd /

adjective

1. below standard or less than adequate.

   substandard housing conditions.

2. noting or pertaining to a dialect or variety of a language or a feature of usage that is often considered by others to mark its user as uneducated; nonstandard.

3. Insurance.

   1. not measuring up to an insurer's regular standards in undertaking risks.

      a substandard risk.

   2. pertaining to insurance written to cover substandard risks.

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substandard British  

/ sʌbˈstændəd /

adjective

1. below an established or required standard

2. another word for nonstandard

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Etymology

Origin of substandard

First recorded in 1895–1900; sub- + standard

Example Sentences

The label moved to Los Angeles, allegedly to be closer to the film industry but also to evade worker discontent with “substandard royalty rates.”

From The Wall Street Journal

For decades, agricultural laborers had lived in substandard housing and were paid terrible wages.

From Los Angeles Times

Workers lived in substandard housing and were paid terrible wages, according to a Times obituary.

From Los Angeles Times

As a result of the alleged substandard embalming, family members say they were forced to witness the “grotesque and undignified condition of their loved one’s remains” and suffered humiliation, grief and horror.

From Los Angeles Times

Far too many children are still assigned to substandard schools, and too many remain unable to read or do math at grade level.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cheap
• inadequate
• lousy
• shoddy