How to Use suboptimal in a Sentence

suboptimal

adjective
Definition of suboptimalnext
Synonyms for suboptimalnext
  • Markowitz isn’t the only one who feels that the IRS guidance is a suboptimal response.
    — Amber Gray-Fenner, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2023
  • Investment and tax strategies that may have served you well for many years could now be suboptimal for the future.
    — Michael J. Francis, Star Tribune, 24 July 2021
  • That set up the long, suboptimal, 51-yard attempt by Campbell.
    — Tyler Tachman, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Sep. 2022
  • The big question is whether this approach is suboptimal.
    — Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 26 Jan. 2021
  • The Saints are 5-2 with a solid grip on the NFC's second wild-card spot, but resetting under center at the midpoint of a season is suboptimal to say the least.
    — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2021
  • There was the athletic-looking youth whose slow amble blocked the walking path so no one else could pass—suboptimal.
    — Lucy Liu, WIRED, 1 Mar. 2023
  • But a suboptimal response that’s ready to go, many scientists think, is better than waiting for the body to create one from scratch.
    — Carolyn Y. Johnson, Anchorage Daily News, 23 Aug. 2022
  • This can be caused by all sorts of factors, including suboptimal blood flow.
    — Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 21 Dec. 2022
  • Even so, few candidates take advantage of the rule, because the optics of using campaign funds to pay the gas bill are suboptimal.
    — Yvonne Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 31 May 2023
  • And there are a ton of reasons that’s a suboptimal situation.
    — Paul Stephen, ExpressNews.com, 26 Dec. 2020
  • The challenge is so frustrating for brands that most programs adopt a suboptimal design based on a simple earn and burn structure.
    — Christian Selchau-Hansen, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2022
  • Hong was stunned to learn that his strategy of scoring Tetrises by dropping long bars into a left-side gap was suboptimal.
    — Jacob Sweet, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2021
  • To one degree or another, we’ve all been challenged by, putting it mildly, a suboptimal 2020.
    — Robert Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune, 30 Sep. 2020
  • Even when working parents know their childcare options are suboptimal, their kids still need to go somewhere.
    — Kendra Hurley, The New Republic, 19 Oct. 2021
  • Much of Pence’s career can read now as a study in suboptimal timing, with a politician who could seem almost ostentatiously out of step with the moment.
    — Matt Flegenheimer, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2023
  • Furthermore, Leclerc's suboptimal 2.29 strikeout-to-walk ratio for his career may make Leclerc too risky an option for Texas to rely on.
    — Jon Hoefling, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024
  • Decisions based on cost alone can lead to suboptimal outcomes.
    — Justin Rende, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
  • Sometimes the fruit is available out of season, but cut into it, and the flesh is brown throughout from late harvesting or growing and storing in suboptimal conditions.
    — Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2021
  • But some groups are more equipped than others to find some degree of success amid otherwise suboptimal circumstances.
    — Usa Today Sports, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2020
  • That ended a run of suboptimal travel for players and management.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Apr. 2023
  • How do pro-Trump forces intend to address these suboptimal conditions?
    — Noah Rothman, National Review, 22 Jan. 2024
  • Vogt and her team were thrilled with the results achieved in 2021 despite suboptimal growing conditions: Less-than-normal rainfall and warm weather resulted in fewer and smaller grapes on the vines.
    — Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 25 Nov. 2023
  • That could be good news for McIlroy, who has thrived in weather that tilted toward the miserable and won all four of his major titles after suboptimal conditions.
    — Alan Blinder, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2023
  • Their unquestioned rulership results in a wake of wreckage too, in the form of low morale, lack of loyalty, high attrition, suboptimal performance, etc.
    — Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes, 26 Jan. 2023
  • Talk about Damone Clark actually being good and not sitting out a year or being suboptimal.
    — Dallas News, 5 Dec. 2022
  • For the end customer, the results from today’s interactions are suboptimal.
    — Stephen Wunker, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2023
  • Schools are trapped in suboptimal local equilibria and seemingly unprepared for the demands of our current world.
    — Michael Muthukrishna, Fortune, 31 Oct. 2023
  • All of that money is currently going into suboptimal funds and exchanges.
    — Ben Carlson, Fortune, 14 May 2021
  • But legacy KPIs often score performance on suboptimal or even wrong measures.
    — François Candelon, Fortune, 10 Nov. 2023
  • After practice Wednesday, Rivers said suboptimal floor spacing may be partially to blame for Harden's mediocre shooting as well.
    — Bryan Toporek, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'suboptimal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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