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