substandard
Americanadjective
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below standard or less than adequate.
substandard housing conditions.
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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.
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Insurance.
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not measuring up to an insurer's regular standards in undertaking risks.
a substandard risk.
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pertaining to insurance written to cover substandard risks.
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adjective
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below an established or required standard
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another word for nonstandard
Etymology
Origin of substandard
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing substandard
Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"
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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.
Electrical Safety First is a charity that has campaigned to raise awareness of the risks of substandard e-bike and e-scooter batteries.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
“I’m just trying to get me and my kids out of this town before it explodes,” growls Mary when Valerie presses her to punch up one of Al’s substandard scripts.
From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026
Allegations include around-the-clock working hours and substandard pay, breaches of safety measures and makeshift sleeping areas inside small workshops.
From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026
Everyone knows that there are too many substandard K-12 schools in America.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026
“So we hang our lives on a substandard, blighted—”
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
