CEFR B2

suboptimal

adjective

Meaning

suboptimal means worse than optimal. It can have more than one sense, so use the alternate meanings and examples to choose the meaning that matches your sentence.

Examples

A quickly produced suboptimal solution to a problem is often more useful than an optimal one that takes a long time to produce.
The writer described the response as suboptimal.

Learn English that separates you from the crowd with Anaversity: private classes, Ani practice, Campus tools, and a public English-learning community.

suboptimal (B2)

adjective

Definition

suboptimal means worse than optimal. It can have more than one sense, so use the alternate meanings and examples to choose the meaning that matches your sentence.

Examples

A quickly produced suboptimal solution to a problem is often more useful than an optimal one that takes a long time to produce.
The writer described the response as suboptimal.
A suboptimal tone can change the mood of a conversation.

How to Use suboptimal

suboptimal + noun (collocation): Use suboptimal before a noun to describe that quality. — "The writer described a suboptimal reaction."
become suboptimal (collocation): Use after become, seem, or be for a state or quality. — "The discussion became suboptimal near the end."

Browse the full Anaversity dictionary