1
as in decent
of average to below average quality
a second-rate song from a songwriter who has done much better
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inferior
of little or less value or merit
a second-rate company that was never considered among the top manufacturers of televisions
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in cheap
of low quality
second-rate goods specifically manufactured for the low end of the market
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of second-rate
Moreno said Bad Bunny is a second-rate performer and said his performing at the Super Bowl is a partisan choice.
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Chad Murphy, Cincinnati Enquirer, 9 Oct. 2025
The freshman quarterback has faced second-rate competition thus far and has daunting matchups next month.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 24 Sep. 2025
Occasionally held back by a very mid-'00s aesthetic and stylistic choices that come across second-rate David Lynch, No Smoking is nonetheless an effectively paranoid adaptation of King for another culture.
—James Grebey, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
The Hundred feels like a second-rate cartoon animation in comparison.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second-rate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for second-rate
Adjective
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To be sure, that was a decent salary back then, and would be equivalent to roughly $114,000 today.—
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On Wednesday, the Tigers earned a commitment from former Mississippi State offensive lineman Luke Work, who has decent experience at every position along the offensive line except center.—
Adjective
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The Heat had beat up on inferior opponents this season before Saturday’s ugly loss to the Pacers.—
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The result is an inferior copy of the original.—
Adjective
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Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China have designed a new sodium-sulfur battery with higher power density and discharge capacity than before, enabling a cheaper, safer alternative to lithium-ion batteries.—
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Fentanyl is cheap, compact, and lethal at microscopic doses, produced through decentralized networks designed to survive disruption.—
Adjective
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And what this array of talents had gotten them was a shitty job in a town outside Munich in the second division of a mediocre German league.—
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The final conclusion on the draftees and free agents is likely similar to the final conclusion on each these seasons — mediocre-ish.—
Adjective
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The most minor miscalculation can botch a landing.—
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Its versatile uses range from nourishing the lips to minor wound care—helping maintain hydration along the way.—
Adjective
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Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.—
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In recent games, KU’s communication has been pretty poor on defense and that’s led to players taking (and too often missing) wide-open 3-pointers.—
Adjective
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But the Outback is satisfactory in both categories.—
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Storage Solutions Just one simple medicine cabinet in the bathroom is no longer satisfactory for today's homebuyers, who crave an abundance of storage.—
Adjective
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People want to write mean things.—
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The Old Pal is like a Negroni, but meaner.—
Cite this Entry
“Second-rate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second-rate. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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