inadequate

[ in-ad-i-kwit ]
/ ɪnˈæd ɪ kwɪt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR inadequate ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not adequate or sufficient; inept or unsuitable.
Psychiatry. ineffectual in response to emotional, social, intellectual, and physical demands in the absence of any obvious mental or physical deficiency.

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Origin of inadequate

First recorded in 1665–75; in-3 + adequate

OTHER WORDS FROM inadequate

in·ad·e·quate·ly, adverb

Words nearby inadequate

inactivate, inactivated poliovirus vaccine, inactive, inactive repressor, inadequacy, inadequate, inadequate personality, inadequate stimulus, inadmissible, inadvertence, inadvertency
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to inadequately

partially, badly, incompetently, incompletely, ineffectively, inefficiently, meagerly, partly, ineffectually, ineptly, perfunctorily, scantily

Example sentences from the Web for inadequately

British Dictionary definitions for inadequately

inadequate
/ (ɪnˈædɪkwɪt) /

adjective

not adequate; insufficient
not capable or competent; lacking

Derived forms of inadequate

inadequacy, nouninadequately, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012