subpar

See also: sub-par

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *upó

Proto-Italic *supo

Latin sub

Latin sub-der.

English sub-

English par

English subpar

From sub- + par.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /sʌbˈpɑː/
• (US) IPA^(key): /səbˈpɑɹ/, [səbˈpʰɑɹ], [səbˈpʰɑ˞]
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /səbˈpɑɹ/

Adjective

subpar (not comparable)

1. Of less than a traditional or accepted standard.

   Synonyms: below par, second-rate, under par; see also Thesaurus:low-quality

   Coordinate terms: up to par, above par

   Bob's grasp of English was subpar.

   • 2014 September 12, Cara Reedy, “My life as a little person”, in CNN‎^[1], archived from the original on 17 February 2016:

     They and their siblings were the only black kids at their respective Catholic schools in middle America. They were treated as subpar.

2. (golf) Synonym of below par.
3. (finance) Trading at a price below face value.

Translations

of less than a traditional or accepted standard

• Dutch: onder de maat, benedenmaats (nl)
• Finnish: ala-arvoinen (fi)
• French: médiocre (fr), en dessous de la moyenne
• Polish: niedostateczny (pl) m
• Russian: дешёвка (ru) f (dešóvka), ниже среднего (niže srednevo)
• Spanish: por debajo de la media, subpar, mediocre (es), deficiente (es), insatisfactorio, inferior (es), subóptimo

See also

• cut the mustard

Anagrams

• upbars, bars up