1
as in shortage
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number
dealt with the school's insufficiency of art supplies by buying materials out of her own pocket
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inability
the lack of sufficient ability, power, or means
her alleged insufficiency for the job
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of insufficiency
This insufficiency could partly explain the differences in life expectancies.
—
Kristen Rogers, CNN, 23 Jan. 2025
But there’s a catch: Roughly 50% of the population suffers from vitamin D insufficiency.
—Margaux Anbouba, Vogue, 17 Apr. 2025
France: Enhancing diets There’s perhaps no better sign of the incomplete progress made on nutrition than the resurgence of diseases of nutritional insufficiency that should be easy to eradicate.
—Christine Ro, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
In addition to systemic barriers that Black mothers already face, cervical insufficiency is quite difficult to diagnose.
—Essence, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insufficiency
Kristen Rogers, CNN, 23 Jan. 2025
But there’s a catch: Roughly 50% of the population suffers from vitamin D insufficiency.
—Margaux Anbouba, Vogue, 17 Apr. 2025
France: Enhancing diets There’s perhaps no better sign of the incomplete progress made on nutrition than the resurgence of diseases of nutritional insufficiency that should be easy to eradicate.
—Christine Ro, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
In addition to systemic barriers that Black mothers already face, cervical insufficiency is quite difficult to diagnose.
—Essence, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insufficiency
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insufficiency
Noun
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Japan began experiencing a matcha shortage in late 2024, as global interest in the powdered green tea spiked, according to the Global Japanese Tea Association.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
13 June 2025
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Korn Ferry predicts a global shortage of up to 85 million tech workers by 2030.—
Kolawole Samuel Adebayo,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
Noun
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Indeed, the root cause of the Iberian grid’s failure on a clear, windy day when 70% of Spain’s generation capacity was coming from renewables was the Spanish grid’s inability to gracefully handle such a surplus of renewables generation.—
Erik Kobayashi-Solomon,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
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Could his inability to execute be a product of pitching deep into most of his 11 starts to begin the season?—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
6 June 2025
Noun
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Brandon Bell/Getty Images What To Know A chronic lack of inventory, partially due to the fact that homebuilders in the U.S. significantly underbuilt in the years following the 2008 crash, contributed to bringing U.S. home prices through the roof in recent years.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 June 2025
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Temple students have criticized the center’s lack of visibility on campus, its initiatives largely unknown to them.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
6 June 2025
Noun
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Risk of nutrient deficiencies: Using powders instead of whole foods may result in nutrient deficiencies.—
Christopher Bergland,
Verywell Health,
12 June 2025
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How pellagra ravaged northern Italy Pellagra is a severe systemic disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin B3, or niacin.—
Asia London Palomba,
Smithsonian Magazine,
6 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Insufficiency.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insufficiency. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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