SECOND-CLASS Synonyms: 120 Similar and Opposite Words

second-class

adjective

ˈse-kən(d)-ˈklas

Definition of second-class

as in inferior

of little or less value or merit a playwright who produced only second-class work when he turned his hand to poetry

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in decent

of average to below average quality it's only a second-class restaurant and not worth the high prices

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 second-class The date stood out to Browning, who’d lost thousands in anticipated shillings when 584 steerage and 253 second-class passengers chose drowning in a Canadian river over registering at one of his boarding houses near the port of Liverpool. — Claire Carusillo, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026 Muslim residents have long complained of being treated like second-class citizens in Thailand, and separatist movements have been periodically active for decades. — ABC News, 23 July 2026 There, he’s attacked by The Denied, a militia group of non-benders who feel like second-class citizens in this world seeking an old totem of a prior Avatar known as Sonam. — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 20 July 2026 Ali refused to fight in the Vietnam War for a country that treated Black people as second-class citizens. — Michael Cunningham, AJC.com, 4 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for second-class

Recent Examples of Synonyms for second-class

Adjective

The Chiefs went on to emerge victorious 24-10, but like the offense, the defense’s focus now will be identifying how an inferior team that lost its star player early managed to stay involved until late in the fourth quarter.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 27 Sep. 2026
The same can be said for TCU’s offense as well after the past two games against inferior opponents.

— Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of inferior

Adjective

While the price can be inhibiting for some — with chef pants priced as high as $190 and jackets as much as $210, the price of a decent knife or other cooking tools — Argoti feels the heavy usage justifies the cost for him.

— Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
The other was a decent man constantly being tormented by God in order to test his faith.

— Chuck Lorre, Vanity Fair, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of decent

Adjective

The bus and a security checkpoint booth were damaged, and one border service employee suffered minor injuries, police said.

— HANNA ARHIROVA, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026
In the 120 years that the State Russian Museum has owned the painting, only minor conservation has been carried out.

— Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of minor

Adjective

Once considered an ordinary metal, it was found in 2019 to become superconducting below about 2 kelvins.

— Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026
Things that seem strange or even barbaric to us today were sometimes considered perfectly ordinary at another point in history.

— Jim Dudlicek, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of ordinary

Adjective

There’s a wide array of options in this oddly-perfect elegant ballroom, along with a specialty chef that whips up a mean omelet before your eyes.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
The releases buy time, but mean inventories are being consumed rather than rebuilt, making restocking a longer-term source of demand.

— Matthew Tan, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of mean

Adjective

After months of negotiations failed to yield a satisfactory agreement, the union approved strike action earlier this month in a vote held in tandem with unions at the Brooklyn Museum and American Folk Art Museum.

— Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
The effort displayed by Kansas’ 14 men’s basketball players at Bill Self’s 24th annual Boot Camp proved satisfactory to the Hall of Fame Jayhawks coach.

— Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of satisfactory

Adjective

The main downside is mediocre image quality due to limited color coverage and modest brightness, which largely limits it to lower-impact tasks like working with office documents and viewing web pages and short videos.

— Tony Hoffman, PC Magazine, 26 Sep. 2026
Being mediocre in the American League kept most teams in the postseason hunt, but the Royals couldn’t even manage that.

— Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of mediocre

Browse Nearby Words

second childhood

second-class

seconded

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Style

“Second-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second-class. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of second-class

adjective

Example Sentences

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