- not sufficient; inadequate or deficient
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
in•suf•fi•cient /ˌɪnsəˈfɪʃənt/USA pronunciation
adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- not sufficient;
lacking in what is necessary or required:insufficient funds.
in•suf•fi•cient
(in′sə fish′ənt),USA pronunciation adj.
in′suf•fi′cient•ly, adv.
- not sufficient;
lacking in what is necessary or required:an insufficient answer. - deficient in force, quality, or amount;
inadequate:insufficient protection.
- Late Latin insufficient- (stem of insufficiēns). See in-3, sufficient
- Middle English 1350–1400
- 1. inadequate, scanty, deficient.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
insufficient /ˌɪnsəˈfɪʃənt/ adj
'insufficient' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
abatement
- brush discharge
- canyon
- carbon monoxide
- careless
- chlorosis
- corridor
- deficient
- eke out
- fail
- faint
- guess
- headache
- hypothyroidism
- inadequate
- insolvent
- insufficiency
- lean
- malnutrition
- not proven
- phosphorescence
- point of no return
- refer
- scanty
- scarce
- starveling
- stingy
- thin
- under-
- undercapitalize
- underexpose
- underhit
- unequal
- variety
- vitamin
- wilt
- altitude sickness
- asphyxia
- balk
- bounce
- conjecture
- deficiency disease
- dryland farming
- embargo
- half-assed
- hypoalimentation
- hypochromia
- hypocrinism
- ignore
- kite