/sub stan"deuhrd/ , adj.
1. below standard or less than adequate: substandard housing conditions.
2. noting or pertaining to a dialect or variety of a language or a feature of usage that is often considered by others to mark its user as uneducated; nonstandard.
3. Insurance.
a. not measuring up to an insurer's regular standards in undertaking risks: a substandard risk.
b. pertaining to insurance written to cover substandard risks.
[ 1895-1900; SUB- + STANDARD ]