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as in poor
falling short of a standard I actually play a pretty lousy game of tennis

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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 lousy Recessions typically hurt revenues and operating margins, and the multiple investors are willing to pay for a business — creating lousy news for stocks. Michael Khouw, CNBC, 10 Apr. 2025 Weak or lousy prompts will tend to get hollow or bleak answers. Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025 This mess and the price tag for a lousy deal to clean it up are the sort of thing that gave rise to the chaotic Department of Government Efficiency and a broad appetite for slashing government spending. The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025 The Denver native has watched a lot of lousy baseball in his nine-year Rockies career, and very little of it was his fault. Levi Weaver, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for lousy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lousy
Adjective
  • As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.
    Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2021
  • My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.
    Tim Neville, Outside Online, 23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
  • In fact, the massive, albeit picturesque, gullies were made because of poor farming practices during the 1800s.
    Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Each site has a different interface, often poor or glitchy.
    Jaron Lanier, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Skinner had a terrible time of it for much of the season.
    Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
  • What is disconcerting is when campaign donors and friends & family have commuted sentences after they have been legally convicted of terrible financial crimes.
    Sanjeev Menon, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Their tech lets clothing companies show off a wide variety of sizes and styles—and for a whole lot cheaper.
    Alexandra York, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
  • In Flacco and Pickett, the Browns have two veteran backups on cheap contracts signed only for 2025.
    Zac Jackson, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • In that crowded class of prospects, each star had his own identity.
    D. Watkins, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2025
  • As tensions threaten to turn to violence in the crowded train car, the officer arrives.
    EW.com, EW.com, 8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • But the modern Democratic Party, rudderless and confused and reeling from a pitiful collective performance during Tuesday evening's presidential joint address to Congress, now confronts a fork in the road that's no joke.
    Newsweek, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
  • In the director’s world, fathers are pitiful providers, mothers are blandly cheerful (while quietly suffering enormously), and the kids see far more than their parents do.
    Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Forcing Americans and small independent American companies to rely on those same tools is an unacceptable outcome of domestic legislation.
    Emma Woollacott, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Defense stocks were once considered socially unacceptable investments, but fund managers are slowly changing tack as the sector has rallied in recent years.
    Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Some veterans have impressed at the midpoint of coach Mike Norvell's spring-practice rebuilding as FSU aims to recover from last year's horrible campaign.
    Bob Ferrante, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2025
  • But then two horrible shifts by the Wild turned the game upside down in the blink of an eye.
    Michael Russo, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Lousy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lousy. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.

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