as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard an unsatisfactory first attempt at building a birdhouse

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unsatisfactory Proctor was officially fired from his post on March 19 of this year — just two weeks before the start of Read's second trial — for what Massachusetts State Police said was unsatisfactory performance and a charge related to alcoholic beverages, according to GBH News. Rachel Treisman, NPR, 28 Mar. 2025 The trial board found Proctor guilty of three charges of unsatisfactory performance and one charge of consumption of alcohol while on duty from January to August 2022. Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2025 Some grantees interviewed by The Times feared that impolitic or unsatisfactory answers could lead to cancellation of funding. Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2025 The Gen Z college graduates hired this year have been unsatisfactory, say 75% of employers. Mark C. Perna, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for unsatisfactory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsatisfactory
Adjective
  • Shapiro told reporters at a news conference on April 16 that regardless of the motivation for the crime, political violence must be condemned as unacceptable in our society.
    Riley Beggin, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Tom Schwartz later says that the behavior is completely unacceptable, as does Jason.
    Brian Moylan, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Road conditions are rapidly deteriorating, with the percentage of roads in poor condition expected to double in two years.
    Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 18 Apr. 2025
  • But academic research has consistently demonstrated that stadiums are poor drivers of economic growth and an analysis published last month found stadium projects spur little growth in local construction industries.
    Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • But even one in three Republicans said their cost of living was on the wrong track, according to the poll, which surveyed 4,306 U.S. adults nationwide between April 16 and April 21.
    Jason Lange, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025
  • But the product labels gave away that something was wrong: Product of China, many of them read in Mandarin.
    Karen Yuan, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.
    Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2021
  • My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.
    Tim Neville, Outside Online, 23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
  • That means more time for Rojas, who has shown more bad than good to begin this season.
    Matt Gelb, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Black Mirror’s most effective episodes use their high-concept premises to explore people’s hunger for connection and validation, and how our increasingly tech-forward, capitalistic world can stretch those human impulses to the limit for better or (almost always) worse.
    Abby Monteil, Them., 17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Atlanta Falcons: Shemar Stewart, DE, Texas A&M The Falcons have been deficient in pass rushers for years.
    Ben Standig, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
  • In 2022 Placer County dropped its approval after an appeals court found that its environmental report was deficient in four areas, including emergency evacuation analysis.
    CalMatters, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Unsatisfactory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsatisfactory. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.

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