insufficiency
Americannoun
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insufficiencies
plural
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deficiency in amount, force, power, competence, or fitness; inadequacy.
insufficiency of supplies.
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an instance of this.
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inability of an organ or other part of the body to function normally.
cardiac insufficiency.
noun
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Also called: insufficience. the state of being insufficient
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pathol failure in the functioning of an organ, tissue, etc
cardiac insufficiency
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of insufficiency
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English word from Late Latin word insufficientia. See insufficient, -ency
Vocabulary lists containing insufficiency
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Other topics that will be discussed include bladder health, pelvic floor health, premature ovarian insufficiency and more.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Food insufficiency is considered more severe than food insecurity, defined as having access to food but worrying about it running out or not being nutritious enough.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026
He went to Walter Reed three times last year, including a trip to address the swelling of his lower legs, which his doctor diagnosed as chronic venous insufficiency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
"Vitamin D insufficiency is something that has been recognized as a potential health problem on a fairly large scale in the U.S.,"
From Science Daily ● Dec. 30, 2025
I'd filed a lengthy brief that documented the insufficiency of the evidence and raised every legal deficiency in the trial that I could identify.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
In it, he asked in a general, spiritual way, that God would welcome him to internal life "despite all my sins and insufficiencies".
From Reuters ● Jan. 1, 2023
The script’s insufficiencies are softened by the company’s attitude — warm and inclusive — toward the audience.
From New York Times ● Dec. 14, 2022
Do you have something specific you point to as causing these insufficiencies in the marketplace?
From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2020
“Someones” don’t instinctively parade their insufficiencies on national networks and primetime programs.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2015
Barack and I were focused on only our faults and insufficiencies, seeing them reflected in that drab room and thrown-together party.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
