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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of suboptimal
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
Cameron is no secret to NCAA circles, but a performance like that on a suboptimal day gave her optimism for the future.
—Cory Mull, Austin American Statesman, 5 Apr. 2026
Having a parent or sibling who developed osteoporosis at a younger-than-usual age, say in their 40s or 50s, points to those suboptimal genetics.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for suboptimal
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
Cameron is no secret to NCAA circles, but a performance like that on a suboptimal day gave her optimism for the future.
—Cory Mull, Austin American Statesman, 5 Apr. 2026
Having a parent or sibling who developed osteoporosis at a younger-than-usual age, say in their 40s or 50s, points to those suboptimal genetics.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for suboptimal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suboptimal
Adjective
-
For a city in the grip of a housing crisis, that delay was unacceptable.—
Michelle de la Uz,
New York Daily News,
13 May 2026
-
Bans on unacceptable-risk AI have applied since February 2025, according to the European Commission.—
Chas Newkey-Burden,
TheWeek,
11 May 2026
Adjective
-
After wildfires hit Georgia in April 2026 fueled by a rain deficit, high winds and low humidity, — among other causes, per NASA — neighboring states got slammed with poor air quality alerts.—
Ryan Brennan
May 19,
Kansas City Star,
19 May 2026
-
However his attitude on health care and taxes places Newsom at odds with advocates for poor Californians who would be affected and their allies in the Legislature, many of whom want a tax increase.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
19 May 2026
Adjective
-
The following seasons saw a wrong turn and regression to the point where many supporters gave up.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
For most people, this is where the cocktail goes wrong.—
Jason O'Bryan,
Robb Report,
16 May 2026
Adjective
-
And getting all giddy over some lame light beer that has apple juice poured into to is just plain embarrassing.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2026
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This idea that just sitting with your face buried in your phone when you’re supposed to be in a social setting—that’s lame, right?—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
West Ham showed themselves to be a bad team, less than the sum of their parts and wholly ill-equipped for the challenge in front of them.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
-
Each reiteration and exaggeration of Mary’s bad behavior is another civic stroke of the chisel that perfects the monumental Lincoln in our collective imagination.—
Thomas Mallon,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
So far, results are most promising for people with abnormally high blood pressure who are deficient in the mineral, said Jocelyn Edwards, Pharm.—
Stephanie Anderson Witmer,
Health,
12 May 2026
-
All babies are born deficient in vitamin K, which is vital to blood clotting, and cannot form what are called clotting factors, or substances in the body that help stop bleeding naturally.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
Adjective
-
Everyone is at least a little bit flawed.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
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The unfortunate problem is that, like most other things, the system can be gamed—people could submit flawed content that lists people as authors who have never been involved.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Suboptimal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suboptimal. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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