adj. 1. varying from or not adhering to a standard; as, nonstandard windows; envelopes of nonstandard sizes; non-standard lengths of board cost more per foot. Opposite of standard. [ Narrower terms: deficient, inferior, substandard ] Syn. -- nonstandard. [ WordNet 1.5 ] 2. (Linguistics) Not conforming to the language usage of a prestige group within a community; as, a nonstandard dialect is one used by uneducated speakers or socially disfavored groups. Opposite of standard. [ WordNet 1.5 ] Variants: nonstandard |