Synonyms for insufficiency
Most common
All synonyms
Noun
1. Inadequacy
inadequacy, deficiency, lack, failure, scarcity, incompetence, incompetency, dearth, shortage, penury, want, defectiveness, scantiness, wantfulness
Other
Definitions
- n. 1
The lack of sufficiency: a shortage, the state of having or being not enough (of something).
Near-synonyms: deficiency (broadly synonymous), inadequacy
Forms
- Plural
- insufficiencies → inadequacies, deficiencies, lacks, failures…
Example sentences
- lack I had to leave out this problem for lack of space.
- failure Tom attributed his failure in the exam to illness.
- deficiency AIDS means "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome".
- inadequacy Stop throwing my inadequacy in my face!
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| insufficiency | steady | |
| lack | steady | |
| failure | steady | |
| deficiency | falling | |
| inadequacy | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- want1, lack1
- 6 letters
- dearth1, penury3
- 7 letters
- failure2
- 8 letters
- shortage2, scarcity3
- 10 letters
- deficiency4, inadequacy5, scantiness3
- 11 letters
- wantfulness
- 12 letters
- incompetence4, incompetency5
- 13 letters
- defectiveness, unsufficiency
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (penury3 = 3 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- insuffisance