underachiever

American

[uhn-der-uh-chee-ver] / ˌʌn dər əˈtʃi vər /

noun

a student who performs less well in school than would be expected on the basis of abilities indicated by intelligence and aptitude tests, etc.
a person or thing that performs below expectations.

Etymology

Origin of underachiever

1945–50; under- + achiever ( def. )

Vocabulary lists containing underachiever

Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: under-

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A committed underachiever, Remi was going blind in her left eye but too slowly to warrant anybody’s concern.

From Slate • Jan. 27, 2024

Garoppolo spent the first 53 minutes of Sunday’s game taking a sledgehammer to his reputation as a playoff underachiever and the last seven minutes pouring more gasoline onto the narrative.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 2022

In sports, it’s customary to blame the most flamboyant underachiever you can find, and OBJ has done little to help his image lately.

From Washington Post • Nov. 7, 2021

Here's someone to make you feel like an underachiever - 12-year-old Hend Zaza is the youngest competitor at the Tokyo Olympics.

From BBC • Jul. 22, 2021

Bart Simpson, the underachiever, "mediocre and proud of it," is a model for everyone who is told that what really counts is to feel good, period.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023