epäesimerkillistä

Epäesimerkillistä is a Finnish adjective meaning not exemplary or not worthy of being imitated. It is used to describe actions, conduct, or standards that fail to serve as a positive model.

The word is formed with the negative prefix epä- attached to esimerkillinen (exemplary). The root esimerkki means example. In sentences, epäesimerkillinen is typically inflected according to Finnish grammar, with forms such as epäesimerkillistä (partitive singular) used when the adjective modifies a noun in that case, for example epäesimerkillistä käytöstä.

Usage of epäesimerkillistä is mainly evaluative and somewhat formal. It appears in criticism, analyses, or opinion discourse when an actor’s behavior or a policy is judged to lack models worth following. It connotes that the conduct is deficient in standards or ethical example-setting, and it is often contrasted with esimerkillinen (exemplary). The term is not neutral descriptive language; it carries a negative normative tone and is more common in political, organizational, or public-ethics contexts.

Examples:

- Käytös oli epäesimerkillistä, ja se olisi pitänyt ratkaista paremmin.

- Johtajan päätökset olivat epäesimerkillisiä ja heikensivät luottamusta organisaatioon.

In sum, epäesimerkillistä functions as a concise evaluative label for behavior or decisions deemed unworthy of emulation.