not up to scratch

ADJECTIVE

deficient

Synonyms

STRONGEST

defective faulty flawed impaired incomplete inferior insufficient lacking scarce skimpy unsatisfactory weak

WEAK

amiss bad damaged exiguous found wanting infrequent injured marred meager not cut out for not enough not make it outta gas rare scant scanty second fiddle second string short shy sketchy third-string unassembled unequal unfinished wanting

Antonyms

STRONGEST

abundant adequate enough perfect strong sufficient

WEAK

ample excessive faultless flawless satisfactory superfluous

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

No. Things have definitely changed in terms of intensity, maybe players not up to scratch.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2024

The team quickly realized that holograms were not up to scratch; nor were a host of other technologies.

From New York Times • May 27, 2022

In February, a report by the Scottish parliament's health committee warned that mental health care and support for new and expectant mothers was not up to scratch.

From BBC • May 9, 2022

But the past few weeks have made it painfully obvious that the system is not up to scratch.

From Economist • Aug. 16, 2017

Related: George Martin obituary Starr famously joined the band in 1962 after Martin let it be known that he believed the Beatles’ then drummer, Pete Best, was not up to scratch.

From The Guardian • Mar. 9, 2016

not up to scratch

Example Sentences

Related Words