insufficiency
Americannoun
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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.
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
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.
