1
as in inferior
of little or less value or merit
a playwright who produced only second-class work when he turned his hand to poetry
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decent
of average to below average quality
it's only a second-class restaurant and not worth the high prices
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of second-class
Forging East and West Germany into one country after the fall of the Berlin Wall brought economic hardship and fostered resentment among former East Germans, who felt like second-class citizens.
—
Sudha David-Wilp, Foreign Affairs, 23 Dec. 2025
No more treating the people who make movies possible as second-class citizens in their own celebration.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 17 Dec. 2025
First, ‘finishers’ makes those players seem more involved than mere ‘substitutes’, which sounds distinctly second-class.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 14 Dec. 2025
The Second Amendment is not a second-class right.
—Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 25 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second-class
Sudha David-Wilp, Foreign Affairs, 23 Dec. 2025
No more treating the people who make movies possible as second-class citizens in their own celebration.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 17 Dec. 2025
First, ‘finishers’ makes those players seem more involved than mere ‘substitutes’, which sounds distinctly second-class.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 14 Dec. 2025
The Second Amendment is not a second-class right.
—Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 25 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second-class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for second-class
Adjective
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It's been fashionable since the early 2000s to consider reality shows inferior to scripted or traditional documentary series.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Feb. 2026
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The market was once concerned that ChatGPT creator OpenAI would threaten the Google parent’s dominant search business, and that its own AI technology was inferior.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The Dolphins had a decent, although not necessarily strong 2025 draft class despite the fact all seven draftees got playing time last season, and five made at least one start.—
Chris Perkins,
Sun Sentinel,
11 Feb. 2026
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Education isn’t a cure-all; North Korea appears to have decent schools yet is impoverished and totalitarian.—
Nicholas D. Kristof,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Aside from the three fatalities, four people were hospitalized including two men, both 35, who were in critical condition, and two other men, 37 and 38, who sustained minor injuries, according to the fire department.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
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Of the more than 70,000 people currently in immigration detention facilities, only about 25% of them have any kind of criminal conviction, which can include traffic violations and other minor offenses, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which tracks detention data.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Their goal with the video was to push back against the president’s domestic troop deployments, a trend his critics feared might lead to clashes with ordinary Americans or be used to interfere in upcoming elections.—
Missy Ryan,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
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Nothing out of the ordinary there, admittedly.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The team’s mean average height is 6-foot-4 due to the notable shortness of main rotation guards Tre Jones (6-foot-1) and Rob Dillingham (6-foot-2) and two-way guards Yuki Kawamura (5-foot-7) and Mac McClung (6-foot-2).—
Colleen Kane,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
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For mean reversion traders, this post-volatility environment is a goldmine.—
Nishant Pant,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Roma wanted a satisfactory replacement signed before letting Tsimikas return.—
Andy Jones,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
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Yeah … very satisfactory to hear that.—
Natalie Morales,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The are headed to medium-Earth orbit at about 5,000 miles altitude.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
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Serve chilled or warm the rice pudding in a saucepan over medium-low heat, adding more milk as needed to loosen the mixture.—
Robin Miller,
AZCentral.com,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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When a team has a losing or mediocre season over several seasons shouldn’t the coach take some of the blame.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
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Hedda — the bored, mercurial and vicious wife of a mediocre academic — is known as the Hamlet of women’s roles because it’s widely considered the most complex female part ever written for the stage.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Second-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second-class. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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