insufficient

adjective

in·​suf·​fi·​cient ˌin(t)-sə-ˈfi-shənt 

: not sufficient : inadequate

insufficient funds

especially : lacking adequate power, capacity, or competence

insufficient bandwidth

insufficiently adverb

Synonyms

• deficient
• inadequate
• lacking
• low
• scarce
• short
• shy
• wanting

Examples of insufficient in a Sentence

The case was thrown out because of insufficient evidence.

there's been an insufficient number of volunteers for the job, so I'll have to select someone

Recent Examples on the Web

Regulators reported that the vehicles collided with objects because users had insufficient reaction time to prevent the crashes, either due to limited visibility or delays in releasing the phone app button, which halts the vehicle's movement. —Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025

During the night-owl years of middle and high school, early wakeups inevitably mean insufficient and irregular sleep. —Lynne Peeples, TIME, 6 Jan. 2025

With war continuing to rage on the continent, Europe must become more self-sufficient so that the sovereignty of Ukraine is not tied to high weapons prices and insufficient manufacturing capacities for critical high-end systems. —Arancha González Laya, Foreign Affairs, 6 Jan. 2025

Led by officer Charity Adams (Kerry Washington), while in Europe, the faction was tasked with sorting and delivering over 17 million pieces of backlog mail that was mostly damaged or undeliverable due to insufficient storage holdings. —Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin insufficient-, insufficiens, from Latin in- + sufficient-, sufficiens sufficient

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

insufficient

adjective

in·​suf·​fi·​cient ˌin(t)-sə-ˈfish-ənt 

: not sufficient : inadequate

insufficiently adverb