INADEQUATE: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for INADEQUATE?

Need another word that means the same as “inadequate”? Find 34 synonyms and 30 related words for “inadequate” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Inadequate” are: jejune, poor, short, unequal, insufficient, not enough, deficient, scant, scanty, scarce, sparse, in short supply, incompetent, incapable, unsatisfactory, not good enough, no good, found wanting, not up to scratch, lacking, unfit, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficient, unskilful, inexpert, inept, unproficient, amateurish, substandard, bad, hopeless, useless, inferior

Inadequate as an Adjective

Definitions of "Inadequate" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “inadequate” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Not sufficient to meet a need.
• Lacking the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task.
• Lacking the quality or quantity required; insufficient for a purpose.
• (of a person) unable to deal with a situation or with life.
• Of insufficient quantity to meet a need.

Synonyms of "Inadequate" as an adjective (34 Words)

amateurish	Lacking professional skill or expertise. A very amateurish job.
bad	Feeling physical discomfort or pain tough is occasionally used colloquially for bad. Bad air.
deficient	Not having enough of a specified quality or ingredient. A deficient education.
found wanting	Come upon unexpectedly or after searching.
hopeless	Very bad or incompetent. Jess looked at him in mute hopeless appeal.
in short supply	Directed or bound inward.
incapable	Lacking capacity or ability. With the battery removed the car was incapable of being driven.
incompetent	Not qualified or suited for a purpose. Incompetent at chess.
ineffective	Lacking the ability or skill to perform effectively; inadequate. The legal sanctions against oil spills are virtually ineffective.
ineffectual	Not producing any significant or desired effect. She was neglectful and ineffectual as a parent.
inefficient	Not achieving maximum productivity; wasting or failing to make the best use of time or resources. Inefficient transport systems.
inept	Revealing lack of perceptiveness or judgment or finesse. An inept remark.
inexpert	Lacking professional skill or expertise. An inexpert transcription from the real music.
inferior	Of low or inferior quality. Inferior alveolar artery.
insufficient	Of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement. There was insufficient evidence to convict him.
jejune	Lacking interest or significance or impact. Jejune responses to our problems.
lacking	Deficient or inadequate. The students are not lacking in intellectual ability.
no good	Quantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns for indicating a complete or almost complete lack or zero quantity of.
not enough	Sufficient for the purpose.
not good enough	Resulting favorably.
not up to scratch	Extending or moving toward a higher place.
poor	(of a person) deserving of pity or sympathy. Oh you poor thing.
scant	Barely sufficient or adequate. She weighed a scant two pounds.
scanty	Lacking in magnitude or quantity. They paid whatever they could out of their scanty wages to their families.
scarce	Occurring in small numbers or quantities; rare. The freshwater shrimp becomes scarce in soft water.
short	Of a vowel categorized as short with regard to quality and length e g in standard British English the vowel in good is short as distinct from the long vowel u in food. On short rations.
sparse	Scanty; in short supply. Trees were sparse.
substandard	Falling short of some prescribed norm. Substandard spellings.
unequal	Lacking the ability or resources to cope with. She felt unequal to the task before her.
unfit	(of a person) not having the requisite qualities or skills to undertake something competently. Drunk and unfit for service.
unproficient	Unskilful, inexpert.
unsatisfactory	Not satisfactory; not good enough. Years of living in unsatisfactory rented accommodation.
unskilful	Not having or showing skill. Though kind and willing she was unskilful.
useless	Not fulfilling or not expected to achieve the intended purpose or desired outcome. A piece of useless knowledge.

Usage Examples of "Inadequate" as an adjective

• A sad, solitary, inadequate man.
• The staff was inadequate.
• Inadequate training.
• I felt like a fraud, inadequate to the task.
• These labels prove to be wholly inadequate.
• Inadequate funding.
• An inadequate income.

Associations of "Inadequate" (30 Words)

cramped	Uncomfortably small or restricted. There is no way a computer will be able to decipher my cramped handwriting.
deficient	Insufficient or inadequate. A deficient education.
discontented	Dissatisfied, especially with one’s circumstances. I am so discontented with my work.
disgruntled	In a state of sulky dissatisfaction. Judges receive letters from disgruntled members of the public.
dissatisfied	Not content or happy with something. Dissatisfied customers.
incompleteness	The state of being crude and incomplete and imperfect. The study was criticized for incompleteness of data but it stimulated further research.
indigent	Poor; needy. A charity for the relief of indigent artists.
inferior	Of low or inferior quality. Ulcers located in the inferior and posterior wall of the duodenum.
insufferable	Used of persons or their behavior. The insufferable heat of August in a New York apartment with no air conditioning.
insufficient	Of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement. Insufficient funds.
intolerable	Unable to be endured. The intolerable pressures of his work.
lacking	Inadequate in amount or degree. There was something lacking in our marriage.
meager	Deficient in amount or quality or extent. Meager resources.
measly	Contemptibly small in amount. A measly tip.
scant	Provide grudgingly or in insufficient amounts. Companies with scant regard for the safety of future generations.
scanty	Lacking in magnitude or quantity. Her dress was scanty and revealing.
scarce	Scarcely. They scarcely ever used the emergency generator.
substandard	Falling short of some prescribed norm. Substandard spellings.
unacceptable	Not acceptable; not welcome. A word unacceptable in polite society.
unbearable	Not able to be endured or tolerated. The heat was getting unbearable.
undermanned	Inadequate in number of workers or assistants etc.
undersized	Smaller than normal for its kind. The undersized cubs may not survive the winter.
unendurable	Not able to be tolerated or endured. Cries of unendurable suffering.
unequal	A person or thing regarded as unequal to another in status or level. She was unequal to the task.
unimaginable	Difficult or impossible to imagine or comprehend. Lives of almost unimaginable deprivation.
unpalatable	Not pleasant to taste. Unpalatable behavior.
unsatisfactory	Not giving satisfaction. Years of living in unsatisfactory rented accommodation.
unsavory	Morally offensive. An unsavory scandal.
unthinkable	(of a situation or event) too unlikely or undesirable to be considered a possibility. It was unthinkable that John could be dead.
wanting	Not existing; absent. They weren t wanting in confidence.