insufficient

[ in-suh-fish-uhnt ]

/ ˌɪn səˈfɪʃ ənt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR insufficient ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not sufficient; lacking in what is necessary or required: an insufficient answer.

deficient in force, quality, or amount; inadequate: insufficient protection.

Nearby words

insudate, insufferable, insufficiency, insufficiency disease, insufficiency of eyelids, insufficient, insufflate, insufflation, insufflation anesthesia, insula, insulant

Origin of insufficient

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin insufficient- (stem of insufficiēns). See in-³, sufficient

SYNONYMS FOR insufficient

1 inadequate, scanty, deficient.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR insufficient ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

in·suf·fi·cient·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for insufficient

After 90 minutes of deliberation, the jury found that the evidence was insufficient and acquitted Lizzie.
Would You Stay in Lizzie Borden’s Ax-Murder House?|Nina Strochlic|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Insufficient transparency in the UT admissions process is a serious concern that goes beyond politics.
The University of Texas’s Machiavellian War on Its Regent|David Davis|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Insufficient protocols or incompetent practices for and by the nurses in the hospital hot zone.
Disease History Vs. Disease Hysteria|Kevin Bleyer|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was also the question of inadequate protective gear and insufficient instruction.
Ebola Nurses Are As Brave As Soldiers|Michael Daly|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Insufficient training, technology, and equipment to handle an Ebola epidemic, says Redlener, are byproducts of these cuts.
Ebola Panic Is Worse Than the Disease|Abby Haglage|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The unnecessary delays are stoppages caused by lack of supplies or insufficient air pressure.
Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910|B. H. M. Hewett
The utmost tenderness of caution was insufficient to prevent the effects of this blow on De Courcy's bodily frame.
Self-control|Mary Brunton
None of the rivers is navigable, and the roads are in general indifferent and insufficient.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3|Various
Even Dave's mechanical expletives were insufficient to dispel the illusion.
Menotah|Ernest G. Henham
The chivalry which he introduced was an insufficient gift to barbarism.
Historia Amoris: A History of Love, Ancient and Modern|Edgar Saltus

British Dictionary definitions for insufficient

insufficient

/ (ˌɪnsəˈfɪʃənt) /

adjective

not sufficient; inadequate or deficient

Derived Forms

insufficiently, 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

Medicine definitions for insufficient

insufficient

[ ĭn′sə-fĭsh′ənt ]

adj.

Not sufficient.

Incapable of proper functioning.