insufficient

in·suf·fi·cient

adjective \ˌin(t)-sə-ˈfi-shənt\

Definition of INSUFFICIENT

: not sufficient : inadequate <insufficient funds>; especially : lacking adequate power, capacity, or competence <insufficient bandwidth>

— in·suf·fi·cient·ly adverb

Examples of INSUFFICIENT

1. The case was thrown out because of insufficient evidence.
2. <there's been an insufficient number of volunteers for the job, so I'll have to select someone>

Origin of INSUFFICIENT

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

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to INSUFFICIENT

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

adequate, enough, sufficient

Related Words

substandard, unacceptable, unsatisfactory; hand-to-mouth, lean, light, meager (or meagre), niggardly, poor, scant, scanty, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparse, stingy; bare, mere, minimum; slight, small

Near Antonyms

abundant, ample, bounteous, bountiful, copious, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful, plentitudinous; enlarged, expanded, supplemented; abounding, overflowing, teeming; satisfactory, tolerable; lavish, luxuriant, rich; big, considerable, hefty, jumbo, king-size (or king-sized), large, largish, oversize (or oversized), sizable (or sizeable), substantial, super

Rhymes with INSUFFICIENT

coefficient, cost-efficient, inefficient, self-sufficient