Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Not adequate to fulfill a need or meet a requirement; insufficient.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Not adequate; not equal to requirement; insufficient to effect the end desired; incomplete; disproportionate; defective.
- Synonyms Incommensurate, incompetent.
Wiktionary
- adj. Not adequate; unequal to the purpose; insufficient; deficient; as, inadequate resources, power, conceptions, representations, etc.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Not adequate; unequal to the purpose; insufficient; deficient.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. lacking the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task
- adj. not sufficient to meet a need
Examples
“Are you going to pretend you think the title inadequate?”
“In separate letters, the New York Department of Financial Services threatened to impose penalties on Assurant, an insurer, for what it calls inadequate document-retention policies, and urged a Citigroup mortgage unit to comply with a subpoena related to the inquiry.”
The Wall Street Journal: New York Tells Citi, Assurant to Cooperate
“CHICAGO—United Airlines pilots, still simmering over what they call "inadequate" training and "compromised safety" stemming from United's 2010 merger with Continental Airlines, have ratcheted up their pressure on the carrier by circulating to members of Congress a highly critical 101-page report by their union.”
“Some politicians, business owners and residents in affected neighborhoods have expressed frustration at what they called an inadequate level of police response, calling for a greater police presence and tougher tactics.”
The Wall Street Journal: Beleaguered U.K. Police Step Up Response
“The Cobbs said their house was flooded during Hurricane Katrina and it took 18 months to repair it, and they still resent Mr. Bush for what they call his inadequate response to the crisis.”
“These included what it described as inadequate funding for security structures and an overburdened criminal justice system.”
“Committee chairman Boy Nobunga also had to intervene twice to reprimand Freedom Front committee member Hein Mentz for "badgering" witnesses after they gave what he described as inadequate answers.”
“CNN -- Connecticut's governor has asked state prosecutors to join a review of what he called the "inadequate" response by the state's largest utility to last week's snowstorm.”
“She is frustrated with what she calls inadequate service and the lack of security in her building.”
“Inala resident Miriam Cope resorts to take secateurs on daily outings to prune trees despite Brisbane City Council claiming maintenance program adequate AN INALA resident, fed up with what she calls "inadequate maintenance", has been pruning overhanging trees from council footpaths herself.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘inadequate’.
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EN - academic vocabulary
Use these and get promoted
abandon, abandonment, abnormally, abstract, abstraction, abstractly, abstracts, academia, academic, academically, academics, academies and 3119 more...
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emo words
feelings...blah, blah, blah, feelings...
forsaken, anguish, angst, sorrowful, dejected, depressed, disconsolate, heartbroken, genial, chipper, inadequate, helpless and 58 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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Twitter faves
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favourite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
gonk, nerking, guap, gimp, fabulous, dabble, fabilicious, tragic, zooted, hey, cheekini, nugget and 457 more... -
Personal Vocabulary List
All my favourite words that I come across!
veritable, incongruence, rigamorole, letcherous, revolting, repulsive, reputrid, rapatious, forays, guise, placate, paradigm and 1162 more...
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feeling words
twitterpated, loquacious, ambiguous, pensive, sluggish, anxious, adventurous, curious, abandoned, absent-minded, abrasive, abused and 653 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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Opethead's list
All Words
deplore, immense, ominouse, dilapidated, dunghill, admonitary, procuring, legilimens, mediocre, implicitly, beseechingly, imperiously and 170 more...
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oneasterism's words
Words that I like, that I don't use often enough, that are new to me, that friends and family have taught me, and so on.
lugubrious, reticent, eschelon, missive, penchant, copious, conspicuous, tranquil, redolent, asinine, inane, dilatory and 625 more...
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useful vocab
pysmatic, relentless, storge, preamble, oscillate, itinerary, frolic, frolicsome, abdicate, frolicking, divergent, abnegate and 312 more...
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Global Issues Vocabulary
Current vocabulary words for the 8th grade's Global Issues unit.
global warming, degradation, infectious, illiteracy, depletion, ecosystem, nation-state, self-serving, peacekeeping, poverty, conflict, prevention and 13 more...
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Words to Describe Bad Arguments
unconvincing, unavailing, weak, shallow, unpersuasive, flimsy, ineffective, inadequate, heavy-handed, prevaricate, spurious, sophistry and 3 more...
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favorite words
diffuse, ameliorate, needlessly, murky, lethargic, opaque, chouette, ambiguous, finesse, verisimilitude, gingerly, delicate and 42 more...
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Name Suggestions for Ultra-Compact Cars
A companion list to Name Suggestions for Even Bigger SUVs and Trucks. :-)
Sounds best when you preface each word with "the."speck, iota, minute, mote, dot, jot, mite, molecule, particle, smidgen, morsel, scintilla and 64 more...
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That's What She Said
not to me, lest ye get confused ;)
incompetent, loser, pathetic, shameful, awkward, tiny, little, sad, weak, insufficient, inadequate, lame and 21 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for inadequate.
Didi111 *sigh* My life is inadequate Aug 8, 2012
seanahan Seinfeld did a whole bit on the growing "fear of success" in society. Deep down, I think we all long to be in the upper middle strata of society. Dec 11, 2007
kewpid Beautifully said. Dec 10, 2007
bilby "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful
beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness that most
frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?"
- Marianne Williamson. Dec 10, 2007