underpowered

adjective

un·​der·​pow·​ered ˌən-dər-ˈpau̇(-ə)rd 

1

: driven by an engine of insufficient power

2

: having or supplied with insufficient power

Examples of underpowered in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

All these moments are good for audience groans and there’s an enjoyable bad movie here for the seizing — that is when Cronin isn’t steering the action back to Egypt for an underpowered mystery thread involving a one-dimensional Cairo detective (May Calamawy) pursuing the root of the trouble. —Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026

Compared with the hair-raising language Trump has habitually used about immigrants in the US, his evocation of the Iranian menace was notably underpowered. —Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026

Other big unknowns include whether DLSS 5 will introduce a major performance hit—a potential irony, considering that DLSS was developed to boost frame rates on sometimes underpowered hardware. —Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 2026

In other words, the latest Testarossa makes Crockett’s coupe seem like an underpowered police cruiser. —Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 21 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1905, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for underpowered

• cowered
• floured
• flowered
• froward
• glowered
• powered
• scoured
• showered
• soured
• towered
• devoured
• embowered