Meanings
plural insufficiencies
- The lack of sufficiency: a shortage, the state of having or being not enough (of something).
Near-synonyms: deficiency (broadly synonymous), inadequacy
3 more examples
The troops went hungry because of the insufficiency of their supplies.
She may crowd her days with gaiety, variety, and what are called amusements; she will do so only to find their insufficiency.
1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Chapter XXI. Lady Marchmont’s Journal.”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 160On a recent trip down the Rhine many of the trains we saw were still steam-hauled, presumably through an insufficiency of electric locomotives, as yet, to deal with peak summer traffic.
1962 October, “Beyond the Channel: Western Germany: Rhine right-bank line re-signalling”, in Modern Railways, page 276Synonyms: lack, unsufficiency, deficiency[Appendix:Glossary, inadequacy
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe lack of sufficiency: a shortage, the state of having or being not enough (of something).
More synonyms by meaning
nounlack of an adequate quantity or number
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Italic*n̥-
- Latinin-
- Middle Englishin-
- Englishin-
- Englishsufficiency
- Englishinsufficiency
From in- + sufficiency.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan insuficiència
- insuficiènciathe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Chinese Mandarin 不足
- 不足 (bùzú)the lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Finnish riittämättömyys
- riittämättömyysthe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
French insuffisance, déficience
- insuffisancethe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
- déficiencethe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
German Insuffizienz
- Insuffizienzthe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Greek ανεπάρκεια
- ανεπάρκεια (anepárkeia)the lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Hindi अपर्याप्तता
- अपर्याप्तता (aparyāptatā)the lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Hungarian elégtelenség
- elégtelenségthe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Irish ganntanas, easpa
- ganntanasthe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
- easpathe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
- easnamhthe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Italian insufficienza
- insufficienzathe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Korean 불충분
- 불충분 (bulchungbun)the lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Polish niedostateczność, niedostatek
- niedostatecznośćthe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
- niedostatekthe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Portuguese insuficiência
- insuficiênciathe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Russian недоста́точность
- недоста́точность (nedostátočnostʹ)the lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Spanish insuficiencia
- insuficienciathe lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Tamil போதாமை
- போதாமை (pōtāmai)the lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Ukrainian недоста́тність
- недоста́тність (nedostátnistʹ)the lack of sufficiency; a shortage or inadequacy
Cite this entry
insufficiency. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/insufficiency
“insufficiency.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/insufficiency. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “insufficiency,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/insufficiency.
Source: insufficiency on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.