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 of insufficient

• lacking
• inadequate
• scarce
• low

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

My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day. — Lauren Green, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026

Along with a loss of autonomy, more traffic, and insufficient office space, many are pointing to gas prices and childcare costs as significant pain points. — Anne Ewbank, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026

Gartner has warned that insufficient governance controls could force companies to roll back AI initiatives. — Serenity Gibbons, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026

Trump and his supporters have repeatedly pushed Senate leaders to abolish the filibuster to pass the election bill, but there's also insufficient support to drastically change the chamber's procedures. — Dan Mangan,luke Fountain,kevin Breuninger,garrett Downs,ashley Capoot,justin Papp, CNBC, 2 July 2026

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

Rhymes for insufficient

• beneficent
• coefficient
• inefficient
• deficient
• efficient
• omniscient
• proficient
• sufficient

Kids Definition

insufficient

adjective

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

: not sufficient : inadequate

insufficiently adverb