underpaid

USAGE SUMMARY

The word 'underpaid' is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when you want to express that someone is receiving less payment than they are due. For example, "John has been underpaid for his work for the past six months."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Related: The Guardian view on care workers: undervalued, underpaid | Editorial Yet care providers have a point when they ask how they are supposed to make ends meet on the rates they are paid by council commissioners.

The Guardian

And whether they're recent arrivals or freshly-minted graduates, they're being shunted off into low-paying jobs or into precarious underpaid self-employment.

The Guardian - Opinion

"I just found myself thinking, how long have I been underpaid?

The Guardian

Doctors and nurses are over-worked and underpaid, and although services are meant to be free, in reality patients face many hidden costs.

The Guardian

It took years for Lauren Voswinkel to find out that she was being underpaid.

The Guardian

When I'm looking at job adverts, everything is zero-hours contracts or so underpaid.

The Guardian

"Either you think that you're underpaid for the job you're doing, or you can say to your boss 'I may be paid the standard rate but I add this to the organisation,'" says Mr Cotton.

The Guardian - Money

While full-time, salaried staff continue to strike over the 1% pay rise and prepare for a marking boycott, the issues underpaid GTAs face go largely unnoticed.

The Guardian

The beleaguered Nigerian military, underpaid and underfunded with morale at rock bottom, is losing the war.

The Guardian

Mostly, it was in the hands of contractors who relied on underpaid, badly trained staff; burger-flippers earned more.

The Economist

For instance, we routinely accept the idea that blacks and women tended to be grossly underpaid before the 1960s, because social prejudice restricted their access to more highly-paid professions, or simply made it possible to pay them less for the same job.

The Economist

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When arguing you are "underpaid", research industry standards and document your contributions to justify your claim.

Common error

Be careful not to confuse "underpaid", meaning paid too little, with "unpaid", meaning not paid at all. Using the wrong term can drastically change the meaning of your statement.

Linguistic Context

Underpaid functions primarily as an adjective. It modifies nouns to describe a state of receiving inadequate financial compensation for work performed. As Ludwig AI confirms, it's grammatically sound and widely used. Examples show its use in describing "doctors", "nurses", and "staff".

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

97%

Formal & Business

1%

Science

1%

Less common in

Reference

0%

Social Media

0%

Academia

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The term "underpaid" is a commonly used adjective that describes the state of receiving inadequate financial compensation for work. As confirmed by Ludwig AI, its grammatical correctness and frequent appearance in various contexts, particularly News & Media, highlight its relevance in discussions about fair wages and economic equity. When using "underpaid", ensure it accurately reflects a disparity between the work performed and the compensation received. Avoid confusion with similar terms like "unpaid", and support claims of being "underpaid" with solid evidence and research. Furthermore, while the term is considered neutral, is more formal to use alternatives such as "inadequately paid".

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

inadequately paid

Directly states the payment is not enough.

under-compensated

Mirrors "underpaid" but using a different form of the verb.

poorly compensated

Focuses on the act of compensation being insufficient.

receiving inadequate wages

Emphasizes the wages as being insufficient.

badly remunerated

Emphasizes the financial reward being inadequate.

given insufficient salary

Focuses on the act of giving a salary that is not enough.

unfairly compensated

Highlights the injustice in the compensation.

not earning enough

A simple and direct way to express the lack of sufficient income.

exploited labor

Suggests a broader context of unfair treatment and taking advantage.

low-wage earner

Describes someone who consistently earns little.

FAQs

How can I use "underpaid" in a sentence?

You can use "underpaid" to describe a situation where someone is receiving insufficient compensation for their work. For example, "The nurses felt "underpaid" due to their heavy workload and low salaries."

What's the difference between "underpaid" and "poorly compensated"?

"Underpaid" specifically refers to receiving less money than deserved, while "poorly compensated" is a broader term that can include non-monetary benefits or other forms of recognition that are inadequate.

Which is more formal, "underpaid" or "inadequately paid"?

Inadequately paid is slightly more formal than "underpaid", but both are acceptable in most professional contexts.

What are some common reasons why someone might be "underpaid"?

Common reasons for being "underpaid" include lack of negotiation skills, gender or racial pay gaps, or working in an industry with depressed wages.