adjective
substandard
suhb-STAN-duhd
adjective
1
Below the accepted level of quality; not good enough.
"The inspector condemned the building for substandard wiring."
"Workers complained about substandard housing near the factory."
2
Not matching the standard, "correct" form of a language or dialect.
"Linguists study substandard speech patterns without judging them as wrong."
How to Use Substandard
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishNot good enough — below the normal quality bar expected for something.
Common pairings
substandard conditions
substandard housing
substandard quality
Word Forms
more substandard comparative, most substandard superlative
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Etymology
From sub- ("below") plus standard.