underinsulate

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verb

To insulate insufficiently

OriginEnglish insulate ← Middle English under- ← Old English under- →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

verbunderinsulate (third-person singular simple present underinsulates, present participle underinsulating, simple past and past participle underinsulated)

present singular third person underinsulates · participle present underinsulating · participle past underinsulated · past underinsulated

  1. To insulate insufficiently

    “Most homes are underinsulated in this country,” Mr. Kraeutler said.

    2009 January 23, Billie Cohen, “Work Now, Loaf Later”, in New York Times

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁entér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂én
  4. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  5. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰí
  6. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰér
  7. Proto-Germanic*under
  8. Proto-West Germanic*undar
  9. Old Englishunder-
  10. Middle Englishunder-
  11. Englishunder-
  12. Englishinsulate
  13. Englishunderinsulate

From under- + insulate.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

underinsulate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underinsulate

MLA

“underinsulate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underinsulate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “underinsulate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underinsulate.

Source: underinsulate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.