ˌsəb-ˈäp-tə-məl
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
yes, living on junk food generally means that you have a suboptimal diet
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of suboptimal
Even from my extremely suboptimal vantage point in the very front corner of the theater, I was awed by the depth and crispness of the 3D imagery.
—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
7 May 2026
The Mets are continuing to forge ahead with the team built by Stearns and managed by Mendoza, despite suboptimal results.
—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
28 Apr. 2026
On this mission, NASA flew the Orion capsule with a suboptimal heat shield.
—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
16 Apr. 2026
Avoid costly financial moves Planning ahead for financial setbacks reduces the likelihood that you’ll be forced into making a suboptimal decision.
—
Jason Stauffer,
CNBC,
13 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for suboptimal
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
7 May 2026
The Mets are continuing to forge ahead with the team built by Stearns and managed by Mendoza, despite suboptimal results.
—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
28 Apr. 2026
On this mission, NASA flew the Orion capsule with a suboptimal heat shield.
—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
16 Apr. 2026
Avoid costly financial moves Planning ahead for financial setbacks reduces the likelihood that you’ll be forced into making a suboptimal decision.
—
Jason Stauffer,
CNBC,
13 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for suboptimal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suboptimal
Adjective
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In their grievance letter, the detainees called the markups an unacceptable business practice with no apparent limit.
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Overt racial prejudice, long considered socially unacceptable, is increasingly visible in public life, marking a shift from previously subtle forms.
Adjective
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Because of that, these hands suffer from high production costs, poor durability against impacts, short operational lifespans, and there are no existing solutions that engineers can readily draw upon, Wang added.
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The extreme heat can also affect people who are physically ill, especially those with heart disease or high blood pressure, or who take certain medications, such as for depression, insomnia, or poor circulation.
Adjective
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Critics, and even some supporters, said Soto-Martínez was making his move at the wrong time.
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That could always be wrong, of course, but at least that’s the garage talk heading into the weekend.
Adjective
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Stronger and more flavorful than in your original lame iteration?
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On paper, some of the six, all of whom are far-right conservatives, have enviable educational backgrounds, but the record has proven that each one is openly political and willing to rubber-stamp nearly all of DeSantis’ lame and unconstitutional policies.
Adjective
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That if you were deemed, as an enslaved person, if you were deemed troublesome or in some way unwanted, you would literally be sold down the river from the more northern states to the deeper south where you would potentially be treated even worse.
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Offer Real Value, Not Leftovers Most product bundles fail not because the idea is bad but because the execution misses what consumers actually want.
Adjective
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About 220,000 need major repair or replacement, and 41,677 are rated poor, also called structurally deficient.
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What is often misunderstood is that any of these virtuous behaviors can manifest as deficient vices when underdeveloped and as excess vices when strong but unsupported by the other 10 character dimensions, as evidenced by Steve Jobs.
Adjective
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The cause was not a cyberattack but a flawed software update, and that is precisely the point.
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But this Administration is not interested in making a flawed system work better.
Cite this Entry
“Suboptimal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suboptimal. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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