as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
an unsatisfactory first attempt at building a birdhouse
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unsatisfactory
That was unsatisfactory to Trump, who has wanted to oust Powell for years.
—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2026
Meta's attempt to resolve the bloc’s antitrust investigation of WhatsApp by charging third-party AI companies for access is unsatisfactory, the European Commission said Wednesday.
—
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
Ultimately, the merger with Compaq did not live up to expectations, and after years of unsatisfactory earnings reports the HP board of directors demanded chair and CEO Carly Fiorina step down, a move that jumpstarted shares in HP stock.
—
Chris Anderson,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
In their eyes, the global economy is to blame for their unsatisfactory job prospects, feminism is to blame for their failures with women, minority rights are forcing them to relinquish their privilege as straight men, and so on.
—
Miriam Eve Mora,
The Conversation,
3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unsatisfactory
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2026
Meta's attempt to resolve the bloc’s antitrust investigation of WhatsApp by charging third-party AI companies for access is unsatisfactory, the European Commission said Wednesday.
—
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
Ultimately, the merger with Compaq did not live up to expectations, and after years of unsatisfactory earnings reports the HP board of directors demanded chair and CEO Carly Fiorina step down, a move that jumpstarted shares in HP stock.
—
Chris Anderson,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
In their eyes, the global economy is to blame for their unsatisfactory job prospects, feminism is to blame for their failures with women, minority rights are forcing them to relinquish their privilege as straight men, and so on.
—
Miriam Eve Mora,
The Conversation,
3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unsatisfactory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsatisfactory
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.
Cite this Entry
“Unsatisfactory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsatisfactory. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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