as in lacking
not coming up to an expected measure or meeting a particular need
an inadequate amount of food on hand for so many unexpected guests
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Recent Examples of inadequate
The agency has since faced allegations of misconduct, including inadequate medical care, unsafe living conditions, and preventable deaths in detention facilities.
—
Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
That level is considered inadequate to protect against outbreaks of highly contagious diseases like measles.
—Kirby Wilson, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
Notably, Gartner warns that over 40% of agentic AI projects risk failure by 2027 due to escalating costs, unclear value or inadequate controls.
—Dimitar Dimitrov, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
There's a small fishing port, but that's inadequate.
—Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inadequate
Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
That level is considered inadequate to protect against outbreaks of highly contagious diseases like measles.
—Kirby Wilson, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
Notably, Gartner warns that over 40% of agentic AI projects risk failure by 2027 due to escalating costs, unclear value or inadequate controls.
—Dimitar Dimitrov, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
There's a small fishing port, but that's inadequate.
—Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inadequate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inadequate
Adjective
-
That is not to say that his coverage abilities are in any way lacking, but the Jaguars might see more value in Hunter catching passes to start.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
-
It can be used to crudely express boredom, annoyance or to signal that something is self-indulgent or lacking purpose.—
Sofi Zeman
August 8,
Kansas City Star,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The concern is that whatever AI safeguards might have been put in place are insufficient and are allowing people to incur mental harm while using generative AI.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
On both points, Kennedy argued that the publicly available data was insufficient.—
Alexandra Hutzler,
ABC News,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Treat storage as a scarce public good.—
Phil De Luna,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Water is scarce, rationed to just three hours a day in some districts, and packs of stray dogs roam the city.—
Yegor Mostovshikov,
The Dial,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Steer clear of puddles - Driving into puddles or low areas of rainwater can cause vehicles to hydroplane or skid out of control.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inadequate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inadequate. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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