Antonym for "exceed" [duplicate]

I am trying to find a single word antonym for "exceed". I am using the word as a verb (so "beneath" doesn't work) and it should have a positive connotation (as in a golf score which falls below par).

I thought of "subceed", which I like, and found a few Google hits but it doesn't show up in any reputable dictionaries.

I've reviewed answers to similar questions and found no suitable alternatives.

For example, the selected answer to What would be an appropriate opposite of "exceed"? suggested:

• "eluded" — has a mostly negative connotation and implies intention
• "beneath" — is not a verb
• "are below"/"did not meet" — phrases

I'm looking to replace "exceeded" in the following quotes with a single word (meaning something like "went below", "were under", etc.):

"He never gets tickets because he always exceeds the speed limit."
"To win the match, Tiger Woods must exceeded 4 strokes on the twelth hole."
"To prevent freezing, do not exceed -20 degrees centigrade."

Solution 1:

maintain: i.e., stay within (the limits)

TFD: 3. to keep in a specified state, position, etc.
ODO: keep (something) at the same level or rate

When you have not exceeded, i.e., stayed within the speed limit,

You maintained the speed limit.

Use case:

dailyindependentnig: FRSC urges motorists to maintain speed limits
Miller et al. Community Policing: ... maintain speed limit
Wild Trail in Bengal: maintain speed limit of 20 kmph.

[EDIT]
He never gets tickets because he always maintains the speed limit.
To win the match, Tiger Woods must maintain the 4 strokes on the twelfth hole limit.
To prevent freezing, maintain within -20 degrees centigrade.

Solution 2:

There is no established opposite to the word exceed, and it's quite often suggested that there's a gap in the language that needs to be filled! Some people have come up with deceed as a possible candidate, but there is as yet no real evidence of its use.

: as stated here.

However the word exceed has many varied usage that a single antonym might not be possible. Also I believe that a one word antonym might not be the best choice for exceed.

In fact, even in the examples in your case, the best case antonyms for exceed are different for each example (in my opinion):

1. He never gets tickets because he always keeps under the speed limit.
2. To win the match, Tiger Woods must stay under 4 strokes on the twelth hole.
3. To prevent freezing, do not go below -20 degrees centigrade.

But If I have to give an antonym for exceed it will be RECEDE, although it will be based completely on the latin roots of the words (and may not suit your case), which are:

exceed: excessus (surpass, go above, go beyond, go over, top, beat).

recede: recedere (move away, retreat, withdraw, drawback, draw away).

NOTE: The example sentence given by you are grammatically or logically incorrect. The correct ones should be:

1. He never gets tickets because he never exceeds the speed limit.
2. To win the match, Tiger Woods must have exceeded (OR must exceed) 4 strokes on the twelth hole.
3. {Here, the word exceed might not be the best choice: might be debatable}: To prevent freezing, do not go above -20 degrees centigrade.

OR the more appropriate (debatable again):

To prevent freezing, do not increase the temperature above -20 degrees centigrade.

Solution 3:

It's idiomatic, but why not try "ducks"?

"He never gets tickets because he always ducks the speed limit."

"To win the match, Tiger Woods must duck 4 strokes on the twelth hole."

"To prevent freezing, do not duck -20 degrees centigrade." (I know... Reach!)

How can a duck have a negative connotation though? QUACK! :)

EDIT: It does give the impression of a sudden act of sudden reduction or going beneath though, rather than a steady ongoing process. But heck... it's a duck. Who doesn't like a duck?

Solution 4:

You'd like a transitive verb meaning "be less than". The object is a quantity which is not exceeded. In verbs like surpass, exceed, etc., the subject intuitively has more agent-like properties, and the object more patient-like properties. This is a very prototypical alignment between grammatical relations (e.g., subject, object) and semantic relations (e.g., agent, patient) across languages.

The hoped for word reverses the prototypical alignment, and so you will find one only by getting lucky, since this type of word doesn't usually grammaticalize naturally. Imagine a fake word snarg, which, when used as follows:

Thomas snarged Carmen.

means "Thomas was killed by Carmen." Most English speakers would object because the undergoer (the one killed) is encoded as a subject rather than an object.

In your volunteer activities with underprivileged youth, try to give them a crash course in argument structure (may I suggest Levin & Rappaport-Hovav's Argument Realization?). Some good students might just ask whether, if we were constructing a formal language, we might coin a term like nexceed (not exceed), or exceditur (is exceeded [by]).

Solution 5:

I like subceed

I have this exact problem when talking about the specification of a material, the property of which must be measured to be lower than a specific target. It must not exceed the target, but must improve upon it by falling lower.

The speed limit example is confusing, because you could say a car's default speed is zero, and actual speed is compared to that. I am interested in thermal conductivity of insulation materials where lower is better, but other than using a vacuum cannot realistically approach zero. In this case the default could be said to be 1, with the best materials subceeding 0.1.