Insufficient — In suf*fi cient, a. [L. insufficiens, entis. See {In } not, and {Sufficient}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Not sufficient; not enough; inadequate to any need, use, or purpose; as, the provisions are insufficient in quantity, and defective in quality.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
insufficient — UK US /ˌɪnsəˈfɪʃənt/ adjective ► not enough, or not big or important enough for a particularpurpose: »Their plan may mature with insufficient funds to pay off their mortgages. »This would leave insufficient time to release any new information… … Financial and business terms
insufficient — (adj.) late 14c., from O.Fr. insufficient (14c.), from L. insufficientem (nom. insufficiens) insufficient, from in not, opposite of (see IN (Cf. in ) (1)) + sufficientem (see SUFFICIENT (Cf. sufficient)). Originally of persons, inadequate,… … Etymology dictionary
insufficient — is a useful word because enough has no corresponding negative form, but not enough is often more natural and usually less formal sounding. Another alternative in some contexts is inadequate, which can refer to quantity as well as quality … Modern English usage
insufficient — [adj] not enough; lacking bereft, defective, deficient, destitute, devoid, drained, dry, failing, faulty, imperfect, inadequate, incapable, incommensurate, incompetent, incomplete, infrequent, meager, minus, out of, poor, rare, scant, scarce,… … New thesaurus
insufficient — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ not enough. DERIVATIVES insufficiency noun insufficiently adverb … English terms dictionary
insufficient — [in΄sə fish′ənt] adj. [LL insufficiens] not sufficient; not enough; inadequate insufficiently adv … English World dictionary
insufficient — adj. 1) insufficient for; in 2) insufficient to + inf. (it s insufficient to cite only one example) * * * [ˌɪnsə fɪʃ(ə)nt] in insufficient for insufficient to + inf. (it s insufficient to cite only one example) … Combinatory dictionary
insufficient — in|suf|fi|cient [ˌınsəˈfıʃənt] adj formal not enough, or not great enough ▪ Insufficient resources have been devoted to the health service. insufficient for ▪ His salary was insufficient for their needs. insufficient (sth) to do sth ▪ The heating … Dictionary of contemporary English
insufficient — adjective not enough: insufficient supplies (+ for): There were insufficient funds for a research project. | insufficient to do sth: The evidence is quite insufficient to convict him. insufficiently adverb insufficiency noun (singular,… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
