subpar

adjective

sub·​par ˈsəb-ˌpär 

variants or less commonly sub-par

chiefly US

: below par: such as

a

: below a usual or normal level or standard

subpar attendance

a subpar performance

Why would a major football school fire a successful coach following a single subpar season?

—Jerry Kirshenbaum

Because of phylloxera, vineyards have been inconsistent and yielding subpar grapes.

—James Laube

b

golf : having a score lower than par

His 19 birdies and two eagles gave him more subpar holes than anyone …

—David Barrett

… Augusta National never played easier. … Saturday's 30 subpar rounds broke a third-round tournament record …

—John Garrity

Did you know?

Since sub- means "below", almost anything that fails to measure up to a traditional standard may be called subpar. So you may hear of subpar ratings for a TV show, subpar care at a nursing home, subpar attendance at a concert, or subpar work by a contractor. If you played a subpar round of golf, though, you needed more strokes than you should have.

Synonyms

• bad
• bastard
• bush
• bush-league
• crummy
• crumby
• deficient
• dissatisfactory
• ill
• inferior
• lame
• lousy
• off
• paltry
• poor
• punk
• sour
• suboptimal
• substandard
• unacceptable
• unsatisfactory
• wack [slang]
• wanting
• wretched
• wrong

Examples of subpar in a Sentence

the service at the restaurant was subpar, to say the least

Recent Examples on the Web

The Aces will enter Saturday with a subpar 6-5 record. —Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 14 June 2024

Apparently the cable experience is subpar; on social media people have complained about abrupt cuts to commercial. —Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2024

Unfortunately, many companies pair great reels with subpar rods. —Max Inchausti, Field & Stream, 13 June 2024

The overbilling is for drug and alcohol treatment that is often either subpar or never provided. —Arizona Republic, The Arizona Republic, 3 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above