Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

suboptimal

/sʌbˈɑptɪməl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.51 in modern English

Syllables
sub-op-ti-mal
IPA
/sʌbˈɑptɪməl/
16
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

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

Example Sentences

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.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /sʌbˈɑptɪməl/
  • British English: /sʌbˈɒptɪməl/

Inflected Forms

sub-optimal (alternative)

Derived Forms

suboptimality suboptimally

Frequently Paired Words

unoptimized

Synonyms

inoptimal nonoptimal submaximal

Questions

How do you pronounce suboptimal?
The recorded pronunciation is /sʌbˈɑptɪməl/.
What does suboptimal mean?
Worse than optimal; of less than the highest standard or quality.
Where does suboptimal come from?
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.

How to pronounce suboptimal

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “suboptimal”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/sʌbˈɑptɪməl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “suboptimal”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “suboptimal” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.