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.

RELATED WORDS

inadequately, incompletely, partly

Nearby words

insue, 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 formsin·suf·fi·cient·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for insufficiently

He has since been considered increasingly politically vulnerable after Cruz attacked him as insufficiently conservative.
Texas's Disco Candidate For Lieutenant Governor|Ben Jacobs|May 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In response, Smith quit the party in a huff that July, trashing it as insufficiently principled on his way out the door.
Sen. Bob Smith: The Thing That Wouldn’t Leave|Michelle Cottle|December 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In the Tea Party era, the GOP has become too revolutionary and insufficiently conservative.
Obamacare Ruling: Peter Beinart on the Favor Justice Roberts Did the Right|Peter Beinart|June 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Each of the above candidates was preemptively attacked as insufficiently conservative by some corner of the movement.
GOP Would Have Had Better Shot in 2012 With Center-Right Pols Like Christie|John Avlon|December 2, 2011|DAILY BEAST

The police forces are understaffed, insufficiently trained, and ill-equipped.
India’s Tryst with Terror|Kanwal Sibal|September 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Du Sellier did not get very far, as the weather was very cold and he was insufficiently prepared.
The Escaping Club|A. J. Evans
On the whole it must be concluded that the theory is insufficiently supported by the evidence.
Private Sex Advice to Women|R. B. Armitage
It was the story of brave men bravely led but insufficiently equipped.
Have faith in Massachusetts; 2d ed.|Calvin Coolidge
His work is ingenious, learned, and suggestive, but in his day the facts of ancient mythology were insufficiently known.
Introduction to the History of Religions|Crawford Howell Toy
I know that I lounged about the streets, insufficiently and unsatisfactorily fed.
The Personal History of David Copperfield |Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for insufficiently

insufficient

/ (ˌɪnsəˈfɪʃənt) /

adjective

not sufficient; inadequate or deficient

Derived Formsinsufficiently, 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

Word Origin and History for insufficiently

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.

Medicine definitions for insufficiently

insufficient

[ ĭn′sə-fĭsh′ənt ]

adj.

Not sufficient.

Incapable of proper functioning.