inadequacy

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in·ad·e·qua·cy

(ĭn-ăd′ĭ-kwə-sē)

n. pl. in·ad·e·qua·cies

1. The quality or condition of being inadequate.

2. An instance of being inadequate; a failing or lack.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

in•ad•e•qua•cy

(ɪnˈæd ɪ kwə si)

n., pl. -cies.

1. the state or condition of being inadequate.

2. shortcoming; deficiency.

[1780–90]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	inadequacy - lack of an adequate quantity or number; "the inadequacy of unemployment benefits" deficiency, insufficiency amount - the relative magnitude of something with reference to a criterion; "an adequate amount of food for four people" exiguity, leanness, meagerness, meagreness, scantiness, scantness, poorness - the quality of being meager; "an exiguity of cloth that would only allow of miniature capes"-George Eliot deficit, shortage, shortfall - the property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required; "new blood vessels bud out from the already dilated vascular bed to make up the nutritional deficit" scarceness, scarcity - a small and inadequate amount slenderness - the quality of being slight or inadequate; "he knew the slenderness of my wallet"; "the slenderness of the chances that anything would be done"; "the slenderness of the evidence" adequacy, sufficiency - the quality of being sufficient for the end in view; "he questioned the sufficiency of human intelligence"
	2.	inadequacy - a lack of competence; "pointed out the insufficiencies in my report"; "juvenile offenses often reflect an inadequacy in the parents" insufficiency failing, weakness - a flaw or weak point; "he was quick to point out his wife's failings"
	3.	inadequacy - unsatisfactoriness by virtue of being inadequate inadequateness unsatisfactoriness - the quality of being inadequate or unsuitable adequacy, adequateness - the quality of being able to meet a need satisfactorily: "he questioned the adequacy of the usual sentimental interpretation of the Golden Rule"

inadequacy

noun

1. shortage, poverty, dearth, paucity, insufficiency, incompleteness, meagreness, skimpiness, scantiness, inadequateness the inadequacy of the water supply

2. incompetence, inability, deficiency, incapacity, ineffectiveness, incompetency, unfitness, inefficacy, defectiveness, inaptness, faultiness, unsuitableness his deep-seated sense of inadequacy

3. shortcoming, failing, lack, weakness, shortage, defect, imperfection He drank heavily in an effort to forget his own inadequacies.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

inadequacy

noun

1. The condition or state of being incapable of accomplishing or effecting anything:

helplessness, impotence, incapability, ineffectiveness, ineffectuality, ineffectualness, inefficacy, powerlessness, uselessness.

2. The condition or fact of being deficient:

defect, deficiency, deficit, insufficiency, lack, paucity, poverty, scantiness, scantness, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, shortcoming, shortfall, underage.

Translations

عَدَم كِفايَه، نَقْص

nepřiměřenost

utilstrækkelighed

Unzulänglichkeit

insuffisance

vöntun; sem er ófullnægjandi

utilstrekkelighet

neprimeranosť

yetersizlik

不充足不适当

inadequacy

[ɪnˈædɪkwəsɪ] N

1. (= insufficiency) [of funding, resources, measures, training] → insuficiencia f; [of housing, diet] → lo inadecuado

2. (= weakness) [of person] → incompetencia f, ineptitud f; [of system] → deficiencia f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

inadequacy

[ɪnˈædɪkwəsi] n

[supply, provision, system] → insuffisance f
the inadequacies of sth (= deficiencies) → les insuffisances de qch

(lack of requisite qualities for job, role) → inaptitude f

(= weakness) [person] → faiblesse f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

inadequacy

n → Unzulänglichkeit f; (of measures) → Unangemessenheit f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

inadequacy

[ɪnˈædɪkwəsɪ] n → inadeguatezza, insufficienza; (of person) → incapacità f inv

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

inadequate

(inˈӕdikwət) adjective

not sufficient; not adequate. inadequate supplies; Our equipment is inadequate for this job.

inˈadequacy noun

References in classic literature ?

In writing it down I feel with only too much keenness the inadequacy of pen and ink --and, above all, my own inadequacy--to express its quality.

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I take shelter behind the inadequacy of the English language.

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It was a gigantic inadequacy. Each worked for himself, and the result was chaos.

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"I imagine that Freemasonry is the fraternity and equality of men who have virtuous aims," said Pierre, feeling ashamed of the inadequacy of his words for the solemnity of the moment, as he spoke.

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In truth, through inadequacy of one of the most adequate languages in the world, it can only be said that Jerry sensed the new difference of this roughness.

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In the same instant he was aware of the pitiful inadequacy of speech.

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All sorts of feeble explanations, of appeals to him, occurred to her dimly, only to be rejected by reason of their ridiculous inadequacy. She was silent-abjectly silent.

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The difficulty with which even this amount was written, the inadequacy of the words, and the need of writing under them and over them others which, after all, did no better, led him to leave off before he was at ail satisfied with his production, and unable to resist the conviction that such rambling would never be fit for Katharine's eye.

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Once established before the grate, and consoling himself for the inadequacy of the dinner by the perfection of his cigar, Mr.

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Garth shook his head to help out the inadequacy of words--"what I am thinking of is-- what it must be for a wife when she's never sure of her husband, when he hasn't got a principle in him to make him more afraid of doing the wrong thing by others than of getting his own toes pinched.

View in context

The inadequacy of the boys who took the part of the women-characters is alluded to by Shakspere and must have been a source of frequent irritation to any dramatist who was attempting to present a subtle or complex heroine.

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The volatile truth of our words should continually betray the inadequacy of the residual statement.