suboptimal

See also: sub-optimal

English

Alternative forms

• sub-optimal

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *upó

Proto-Italic *supo

Latin sub

Latin sub-der.

English sub-

Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁épi

Proto-Indo-European *-tm̥mos

?

Latin optimus

English -al

English optimal

English suboptimal

From sub- + optimal.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /sʌbˈɑptɪməl/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /sʌbˈɒptɪməl/
• Hyphenation: sub‧op‧ti‧mal

Adjective

suboptimal (not comparable)

1. Worse than optimal; of less than the highest standard or quality.

   Synonyms: inoptimal, nonoptimal

   Hyponyms: subminimal, subpar

   Coordinate term: unoptimized

   Near-synonym: submaximal

   A quickly produced suboptimal solution to a problem is often more useful than an optimal one that takes a long time to produce.

   • 2023 October 4, Mel Holley, “Network News: Conservative MPs criticise ticket office closure plans”, in RAIL, number 993, page 23:

     "The way the consultation has been handled is suboptimal," she continued.

Derived terms

• suboptimality
• suboptimally

Translations

less than optimal

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Czech: suboptimální (cs)
• Finnish: alioptimaalinen
• French: suboptimal (fr) m
• German: suboptimal (de)
• Greek: υποβέλτιστος (el) m (ypovéltistos)
• Indonesian: suboptimal
• Italian: subottimale
• Malay: suboptimum
• Romanian: suboptimal m or n
• Russian: неоптимальный (ru) m (neoptimalʹnyj)
• Spanish: subóptimo

French

Etymology

From sub- +‎ optimal.

Adjective

suboptimal (feminine suboptimale, masculine plural suboptimaux, feminine plural suboptimales)

1. suboptimal

German

Etymology

sub- +‎ optimal

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌzʊpʔɔptiˈmaːl/, /ˈzʊpʔɔptiˌmaːl/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːl

Adjective

suboptimal (strong nominative masculine singular suboptimaler, not comparable)

1. suboptimal

Declension

Positive forms of suboptimal (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist suboptimal	sie ist suboptimal	es ist suboptimal	sie sind suboptimal
strong declension (without article)	nominative	suboptimaler	suboptimale	suboptimales	suboptimale
	genitive	suboptimalen	suboptimaler	suboptimalen	suboptimaler
	dative	suboptimalem	suboptimaler	suboptimalem	suboptimalen
	accusative	suboptimalen	suboptimale	suboptimales	suboptimale
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der suboptimale	die suboptimale	das suboptimale	die suboptimalen
	genitive	des suboptimalen	der suboptimalen	des suboptimalen	der suboptimalen
	dative	dem suboptimalen	der suboptimalen	dem suboptimalen	den suboptimalen
	accusative	den suboptimalen	die suboptimale	das suboptimale	die suboptimalen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein suboptimaler	eine suboptimale	ein suboptimales	(keine) suboptimalen
	genitive	eines suboptimalen	einer suboptimalen	eines suboptimalen	(keiner) suboptimalen
	dative	einem suboptimalen	einer suboptimalen	einem suboptimalen	(keinen) suboptimalen
	accusative	einen suboptimalen	eine suboptimale	ein suboptimales	(keine) suboptimalen

Further reading

• “suboptimal”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[1] (in German)
• “suboptimal” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon