How to Use substandard in a Sentence

substandard

adjective
  • Many were found to be substandard, overpriced or were not built at all.
    — ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026
  • Vargas fears her teeth might fall out due to substandard dental care.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Oct. 2022
  • But what does the substandard showing outside of league play track with?
    — oregonlive, 22 Feb. 2022
  • Many of these cases are tied to peeling paint in substandard housing.
    — Molly Rauch, Good Housekeeping, 16 Feb. 2016
  • That can leave poorer households with substandard service – or none at all.
    — Mike Rogoway, oregonlive, 5 Oct. 2020
  • Much has been made of Duke’s substandard defense this season.
    — Michael Beller, SI.com, 22 Jan. 2018
  • Vanquishing the virus won't solve the tragedy of substandard elder care.
    — Star Tribune, 22 Dec. 2020
  • That can only happen when a defense comes out flat and tackling is substandard.
    — Hal Habib, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2021
  • Club members removed all of the rubber mulch from the area and helped replace substandard boards as well.
    — Amanda McElfresh, NOLA.com, 22 Nov. 2020
  • Four out of 5 compact pickup trucks in the study earned substandard ratings.
    — Elizabeth Napolitano, CBS News, 28 June 2023
  • Some people will take your money and give you substandard work — or worse yet, never give you anything back at all.
    — Pia Silva, Forbes, 22 June 2021
  • These days, many winemakers rush to can their products and put out a substandard package that hurts them in the long run.
    — Hudson Lindenberger, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2021
  • Kashkooli said not only would farm wages drop, but the amount of substandard housing for guest workers would increase.
    — Fox News, 17 Sep. 2019
  • The Russians have flooded the market with crab that's substandard.
    — Lynette Rice, EW.com, 13 Apr. 2020
  • The Cougars were capable of beating substandard foes, and rising up here and there.
    — Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 6 Oct. 2020
  • Meanwhile, no one has been held accountable for the fire itself, sparked by substandard wiring behind the walls of this rental home.
    — George Stanley, Journal Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2023
  • The division is up for grabs, with the Bucs leading the way with a substandard 5-6 record.
    — Catena Media, al, 5 Dec. 2022
  • The vast majority did not respond but two did say the shipments were substandard and the gloves weren't even nitrile.
    — Scott McLean, CNN, 24 Oct. 2021
  • People who know how substandard these homes are don’t voluntarily go there.
    — Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Evidence suggests that some of the kids in substandard settings may have grown more anxious and less social.
    — Elliot Haspel, The Atlantic, 28 Oct. 2025
  • The city says the existing sidewalks are also substandard.
    — Christa Swanson, CBS News, 3 May 2026
  • The statement didn’t do much to quell the notion that Simmons’s off-season work ethic is substandard.
    — New York Times, 30 June 2021
  • His distribution in the final third has often been substandard, and the winger has only found the net once this season.
    — SI.com, 18 Apr. 2018
  • The improvements of the Knicks, combined with a substandard night from the Pacers, led to a blowout.
    — Tony East, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025
  • What often gets lost in the Packers’ epic collapse was Rodgers’ substandard play throughout the game.
    — Rob Reischel, Forbes, 6 July 2022
  • Many of the migrants, who typically work year round for low wages and live on the farms that employ them, also had substandard housing.
    — Noam Scheiber, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2017
  • First, the lack of time to knock on the doors of households that haven't responded to the questionnaire will result in substandard data.
    — Mike Schneider, Star Tribune, 26 Aug. 2020
  • In a cute reversal, Penn directs and plays a substandard dad in a movie that gives his daughter her biggest acting role to date.
    — Belinda Luscombe, Time, 18 Aug. 2021
  • The food and amenities are substandard, the ships are older, and the cruise lines emphasize the gambling, which is the revenue driver.
    — The Washington Post, The Denver Post, 2 Mar. 2017
  • The housing is for farmworkers aged 55 and up, many of whom live in substandard or cramped conditions due to their income.
    — Ryan MacAsero, Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'substandard.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: