as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard that's just a bush-league ploy to get cast on a TV reality show

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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 bush-league A lot of times, these bush-league but prolific lawbreakers basically got a warning, then another warning, then maybe a couple of months in county. Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024 A lot of times, these bush-league but prolific lawbreakers basically got a warning, then another warning, then maybe a couple of months in county. Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024 The script constitutes a string of bush-league errors we’re not supposed to care about, starting with the audience getting way, way out ahead of the characters regarding who’s hiding what. Michael Phillips, Twin Cities, 7 June 2024 What happened in the California state Assembly truly was a bush-league error. George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bush-league
Adjective
  • The use of unilateral sanctions against Special Rapporteurs or any other UN expert or official is unacceptable.
    Amira El-Fekki‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025
  • Students, both the ones who behave and the ones who misbehave, need to know that there are real consequences for unacceptable behavior.
    Carrie Lukas, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
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
  • However, according to the Baseball Rules Academy, the umpires got the call wrong.
    Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2025
  • One of the company’s big assumptions about the phone had turned out to be wrong.
    Verne Kopytoff, Fortune, 5 July 2025
Adjective
  • But August is perhaps a poor month in which to rally the staff.
    John Updike, New Yorker, 11 July 2025
  • For certain situations, particularly if someone is in poor health, experts generally say claiming early makes sense.
    Lorie Konish, CNBC, 11 July 2025
Adjective
  • Tom threw batting practice to Jackson, took Ethan down in the garage to vent and hit soft toss after a bad day at school.
    Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 10 July 2025
  • But conditions can be so much worse and the resources can be strained.
    Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 10 July 2025
Adjective
  • The double talk that is presented by both Republicans and Democrats alike is pathetic.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2025
  • Tehran's retaliation has, so far, been pathetic: a few missiles lobbed at an empty US base, complete with a heads-up.
    Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
Adjective
  • The report alleges a range of major violations plaguing St. Hope Public Schools — including conflicts of interests among its top officers, improper use of public funding, deficient accounting processes and the employment of a largely unqualified teaching staff.
    Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 21 May 2025
  • If a person is not deficient in iron, too much iron can cause significant problems.5 3.
    Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 23 June 2025
Adjective
  • That does not mean people place blind faith in AI or use it to displace human-to-human interactions; that would be disastrous.
    Yasmin Green, Foreign Affairs, 7 July 2025
  • It was largely forgotten about until closer to release (December 2020 was launch, and its disastrous release was all anyone could talk about).
    Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 5 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bush-league.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bush-league. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.

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