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INSUFFICIENCY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Lack of an adequate quantity or number
Example:
the inadequacy of unemployment benefits
Synonyms:
deficiency; inadequacy; insufficiency
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("insufficiency" is a kind of...):
amount (the relative magnitude of something with reference to a criterion)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "insufficiency"):
exiguity; leanness; meagerness; meagreness; poorness; scantiness; scantness (the quality of being meager)
deficit; shortage; shortfall (the property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required)
scarceness; scarcity (a small and inadequate amount)
slenderness (the quality of being slight or inadequate)
Antonym:
sufficiency (the quality of being sufficient for the end in view)
Derivation:
insufficient (of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(pathology) inability of a bodily part or organ to function normally
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("insufficiency" is a kind of...):
inability; unfitness (lacking the power to perform)
Domain category:
pathology (the branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and effects of diseases)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "insufficiency"):
cardiac insufficiency; coronary insufficiency (inadequate blood flow to the heart muscles; can cause angina pectoris)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A lack of competence
Example:
juvenile offenses often reflect an inadequacy in the parents
Synonyms:
inadequacy; insufficiency
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("insufficiency" is a kind of...):
failing; weakness (a flaw or weak point)
Context examples:
"We are all unanimous in that wish, I suppose," said Elinor, "in spite of the insufficiency of wealth."
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
Increased blood levels of these peptides are associated with renal insufficiency.
(C-Terminal Telopeptide Type I Collagen, NCI Thesaurus)
It leads to progressive neurologic disorders, adrenal insufficiency and death.
(Adrenoleukodystrophy, NCI Thesaurus)
A life threatening condition due to inadequate levels of glucocorticoids in an individual with adrenal insufficiency.
(Adrenal Crisis, NCI Thesaurus)
Identifying and correcting vitamin D insufficiency could aid in the early treatment of MS.
(Vitamin D Levels Predict Multiple Sclerosis Progression, NIH)
Also called: Adrenal insufficiency, Adrenocortical hypofunction, Hypocortisolism
(Addison Disease, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Representative examples of non-neoplastic disorders include diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism, and adrenal gland insufficiency.
(Endocrine Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)
Clinical signs usually appear during the first decade and include alacrima, achalasia, autonomic dysfunction and the sequelae of adrenocortical insufficiency: hypoglycemia and hypotension.
(Allgrove Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)
Half of the dead dolphins examined had a thin adrenal gland cortex, indicative of adrenal insufficiency.
(Deepwater Horizon oil spill contributed to high number of Gulf dolphin deaths, NOAA)
This lord Munodi was a person of the first rank, and had been some years governor of Lagado; but, by a cabal of ministers, was discharged for insufficiency.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
