insufficient
[in-suh-fish-uh nt]
- not sufficient; lacking in what is necessary or required: an insufficient answer.
- deficient in force, quality, or amount; inadequate: insufficient protection.
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Origin of insufficient
Synonyms
See more synonyms for insufficient on Thesaurus.com1. inadequate, scanty, deficient.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for insufficient
Contemporary Examples
After 90 minutes of deliberation, the jury found that the evidence was insufficient and acquitted Lizzie.
Insufficient transparency in the UT admissions process is a serious concern that goes beyond politics.
Insufficient protocols or incompetent practices for and by the nurses in the hospital hot zone.
There was also the question of inadequate protective gear and insufficient instruction.
Insufficient training, technology, and equipment to handle an Ebola epidemic, says Redlener, are byproducts of these cuts.
Historical Examples
Gotre and other maladies arising from insufficient diet have disappeared.
In the Heart of VosgesMatilda Betham-Edwards
But the shock was insufficient to repel the impetus of the charge.
The Last of the MohicansJames Fenimore Cooper
The information which Sakemba was able to give us was but little, and insufficient.
FreelandTheodor Hertzka
We were only fitted with summer clothing, which was now insufficient protection.
The Long Labrador TrailDillon Wallace
Brilliant as might have been his genius, his acquirements necessarily were insufficient.
Vivian GreyEarl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli
insufficient
- not sufficient; inadequate or deficient
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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
Word Origin and History for insufficient
adj.
late 14c., from Old French insufficient (14c.), from Latin insufficientem (nominative insufficiens) "insufficient," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + sufficientem (see sufficient). Originally of persons, "inadequate, unable;" of things, from late 15c. Related: Insufficiently.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
insufficient
(ĭn′sə-fĭsh′ənt)- Not sufficient.
- Incapable of proper functioning.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.