| Library / English Dictionary |
INSUFFICIENT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement
Example:
insufficient funds
Synonyms:
deficient; insufficient
Classified under:
Similar:
depleted; low (no longer sufficient)
inadequate; jejune; poor; short (of insufficient quantity to meet a need)
lean; skimpy (containing little excess)
light; scant; short (less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so)
shy (short)
Also:
meager; meagerly; meagre; scrimpy; stingy (deficient in amount or quality or extent)
Attribute:
quantity (an adequate or large amount)
Antonym:
sufficient (of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement but without being abundant)
Derivation:
insufficiency (lack of an adequate quantity or number)
Context examples:
She felt that she had been risking her friend's happiness on most insufficient grounds.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
From herself to Jane—from Jane to Bingley, her thoughts were in a line which soon brought to her recollection that Mr. Darcy's explanation there had appeared very insufficient, and she read it again.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
It may be caused by insufficient secretion of growth hormone (DWARFISM, PITUITARY).
(Dwarfism, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
Before I had quitted your apartment, on a sensation of cold, I had covered myself with some clothes, but these were insufficient to secure me from the dews of night.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
A broad group of psychological disorders with abnormal eating behaviors leading to physiological effects from overeating or insufficient food intake.
(Eating Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)
Researchers in the United Kingdom established that poor hygiene by humans, specifically insufficient hand washing after defecation, is especially responsible for the spread of antibiotic-resistant — superbug — strains of Escerichia coli (E. coli) bacteria.
(Wash your hands or else spread superbug E. coli, say scientists, Wikinews)
Shock resulting from insufficient blood volume for the maintenance of adequate cardiac output, blood pressure and tissue perfusion.
(Hypovolemic Shock, NCI Thesaurus)
However, these correlations alone were insufficient to answer the question, “What produces what?”
(101 Geysers on Icy Saturn Moon, NASA)
Insufficient, inadequate, or incorrect information provided on a device's label or documentation regarding e.g. as the intended use, directions for use, and characteristics of the device.
(Device Labeling Problem Evaluation Result, Food and Drug Administration)
