far from excellent

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "far from excellent" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe something that is significantly below a standard of excellence or quality. Example: "The service at the restaurant was far from excellent, leaving us disappointed with our experience."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

"We learned from and drew our experiences during past winters, when performance was far from excellent," he said.

The New York Times

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

During a television documentary broadcast just before Christmas, he said that the company was in a rut, too attached to its strict hierarchical structure and far from being as "excellent" as it believed.

The Guardian

4.13pm: "Far from being an excellent book, Rough Ride comes across as a man who's bitter that two of his compatriots are much better cyclists than him," writes Stephen Roch... sorry, Daniel Seppings.

The Guardian - Sport

Newly a father, and reluctant to stray too far from home, it made excellent professional sense to turn it into the subject of his next book.

The Guardian - Books

Austria's 2011 debt amounted to 74 percent of its gross domestic product — not excellent, but far from bad under the circumstances.

The New York Times

Andrew Solomon, in his excellent book "Far from the Tree," describes two kinds of identity available to the disabled: "vertical" (the family they're descended from) and "horizontal" (the people with whom they share a physical trait, like dwarfism or deafness).

The New Yorker

Last year, in his excellent book "Far From the Tree, Andrew Solomonn wrote about the difficulties facing families where one child has a "horizontal identity" — an identity somehow foreign to that of his parents.

The New York Times - Health

Far from viewing it as an excellent opportunity to bloody the nose of a club they refer to as Franchise FC, many AFC Wimbledon fans were appalled when news of the fixture broke.

The Guardian - Sport

In an excellent, albeit far from unbiased, article on panpsychism and its history, Paul Edwards (1967) divided the arguments for panpsychism into two broad categories: genetic and analogical.

SEP

Zach Redler's score is flecked with harshness and dissonance while Sara Cooper's book and lyrics present a mother and a daughter (Catherine Cox and Leslie Kritzer, both excellent) who are far from embraceable (1 25).

The New York Times

There are a number of excellent spots not far from the city's main drag, Avenue Chapultepec.

BBC

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "far from excellent", ensure that the context clearly indicates what the expected standard or level of quality was. This provides a clearer understanding of the deficiency.

Common error

Avoid using "far from excellent" when you simply mean 'good' or 'average'. The phrase implies a significant deviation from an expected high standard, not just a slight underperformance.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "far from excellent" functions as an adjective phrase that modifies a noun, indicating that the noun does not meet a certain standard of quality. As Ludwig AI suggests, it is a correct and usable phrase.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

40%

Science

30%

Formal & Business

10%

Less common in

Wiki

10%

Encyclopedias

5%

Reference

5%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "far from excellent" is a useful adjective phrase for expressing that something is significantly below the standard of excellence. As Ludwig AI states, this phrase is grammatically correct and sees common usage across various sources. When employing this expression, it's best practice to ensure the context clearly defines the expectation or standard being referenced. While alternatives such as "not remotely excellent" exist, "far from excellent" precisely conveys a substantial deficit in quality.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

not remotely excellent

Emphasizes the distance from being excellent.

nowhere near excellent

Indicates a significant gap from achieving excellence.

far from satisfactory

Shifts the focus from excellence to a more basic level of satisfaction.

well below excellent

Directly states that the quality is lower than excellent.

not close to excellent

Highlights the lack of proximity to being excellent.

not particularly excellent

Suggests a lack of remarkable quality.

less than excellent

A simple comparative indicating a lower standard.

deficient in excellence

Focuses on the lack of excellence as a deficiency.

lacking in excellence

Similar to deficient, highlighting the absence of excellence.

a far cry from excellent

Uses an idiomatic expression to emphasize the difference from excellence.

FAQs

How can I use "far from excellent" in a sentence?

Use "far from excellent" to describe something that does not meet a high standard or expectation. For example, "The customer service was "far from excellent", which led to several complaints."

What are some alternatives to "far from excellent"?

Alternatives include "not remotely excellent", "nowhere near excellent", or "far from satisfactory". The best choice depends on the specific context and the degree of emphasis you want to convey.

Is it too formal to use "far from excellent" in casual conversation?

While "far from excellent" isn't overly formal, it might sound slightly elevated in very casual conversation. Simpler alternatives like "not great" or "not good" might be more appropriate.

What is the difference between "far from excellent" and "not excellent"?

"Far from excellent" suggests a significant deficiency or a considerable distance from the standard of excellence, while "not excellent" is a more neutral statement indicating a simple lack of excellence.