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as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard a pretty poor musician, even for a garage band

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

5
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poor quality
lousy quality
inadequate quality
low quality
terrible quality
awful quality
a poor judgment
an unwise judgment
a lousy judgment
a questionable judgment
a horrible judgment
an improper judgment
a poor performance
a weak performance
an unacceptable performance
a negative performance
an inadequate performance
a horrendous performance
a poor condition
a deteriorated condition
a shabby condition
a sub-par condition
a shoddy condition
a pitiful condition
poor nutrition
unbalanced nutrition
improper nutrition
deficient nutrition
unhealthy nutrition
insufficient nutrition

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 poor Some parents worry that Alexa's high tolerance for rudeness instills poor behavior in their kids, according to Quartz. Emily Forlini, PC Magazine, 18 Apr. 2025 Lately, survey data have shown consumers growing increasingly gloomy about the economy and inflation so investors will be looking to see if that poor outlook has translated into less spending. Medora Lee, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2025 Here are the inspection scores and violations for restaurants within the city limits of Arlington for March 30th - April 5th, 2025 A score of 100 is a perfect score and 70 is considered to be extremely poor. Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Apr. 2025 In fact, the massive, albeit picturesque, gullies were made because of poor farming practices during the 1800s. Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 21 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for poor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poor
Adjective
  • Criminal justice scholars say that when scores based on immutable facts are weighted so heavily in parole decisions, prisoners from impoverished, racially segregated communities are more likely to be hurt.
    Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 10 Apr. 2025
  • The once-vacant lot across the street from her childhood playground on Washington Avenue is now home to Wilcox Academy, an early learning center that represents a powerful investment in a historically impoverished community.
    Raymond Pierce, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Fourteen years of war have left the country desolate, and its people exhausted; millions have been displaced or were forced to become refugees.
    Raghed Waked & Justin Salhani, The Dial, 25 Mar. 2025
  • That quality is maintained first and foremost by a desolate whistling-wind sound effect in the background of all the scenes, along with a sustained droning musical score.
    Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Details of who makes up the DOGE staff have been scarce despite the intense media attention on the team's efforts.
    Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
  • As a rule, if rain is scarce, a crepe myrtle needs two to three gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter per week.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 26 Mar. 2025
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
  • What is disconcerting is when campaign donors and friends & family have commuted sentences after they have been legally convicted of terrible financial crimes.
    Sanjeev Menon, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Skinner had a terrible time of it for much of the season.
    Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • But the modern Democratic Party, rudderless and confused and reeling from a pitiful collective performance during Tuesday evening's presidential joint address to Congress, now confronts a fork in the road that's no joke.
    Newsweek, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
  • In the director’s world, fathers are pitiful providers, mothers are blandly cheerful (while quietly suffering enormously), and the kids see far more than their parents do.
    Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The match-up broke ratings records, with nearly 128 million viewers tuning in, according to Nielsen.
    Judy Kurtz, The Hill, 26 Mar. 2025
  • Fake Wedding follows two broke singles who throw a fake wedding to cash in on the registry and the very real problems the make-believe couple encounters.
    Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Charlie Parker’s Favorite Painting (1946) indicates Abercrombie’s engagement with social issues: a yellow noose, nearly fluorescent against a dishwater sky, dangles from a barren tree—an oblique lament from the doggedly antiracist Abercrombie.
    Jeremy Lybarger, ARTnews.com, 26 Mar. 2025
  • Meanwhile, the patch of skin to the ’22 trophy’s left looks almost barren.
    Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 25 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Poor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poor. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

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