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

Unlicensed child care sites can be a hazard to kids and allow for poor practices to persist out of sight of state inspectors, like insufficient staff attending to kids or lacking baby gates and smoke detectors, said Gay. —Beki San Martin, Freep.com, 15 Nov. 2025

In 2014, the CDC declared insufficient sleep a public health problem. —Katherine Laidlaw, HubSpot, 14 Nov. 2025

The inspector found two live roaches in the facility, as well as issues with insufficient hot water at one of the sinks. —Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Nov. 2025

Democrats for weeks fought to include an extension of the Affordable Care Act premium subsidies in government funding legislation, and many on the left have criticized the compromise funding bill as insufficient without the extension. —Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 12 Nov. 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

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