Categories: GeneralSynonyms

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)

amateurishLacking professional skill or expertise.
A very amateurish job.
badFeeling physical discomfort or pain tough is occasionally used colloquially for bad.
Bad air.
deficientNot having enough of a specified quality or ingredient.
A deficient education.
found wantingCome upon unexpectedly or after searching.
hopelessVery bad or incompetent.
Jess looked at him in mute hopeless appeal.
in short supplyDirected or bound inward.
incapableLacking capacity or ability.
With the battery removed the car was incapable of being driven.
incompetentNot qualified or suited for a purpose.
Incompetent at chess.
ineffectiveLacking the ability or skill to perform effectively; inadequate.
The legal sanctions against oil spills are virtually ineffective.
ineffectualNot producing any significant or desired effect.
She was neglectful and ineffectual as a parent.
inefficientNot achieving maximum productivity; wasting or failing to make the best use of time or resources.
Inefficient transport systems.
ineptRevealing lack of perceptiveness or judgment or finesse.
An inept remark.
inexpertLacking professional skill or expertise.
An inexpert transcription from the real music.
inferiorOf low or inferior quality.
Inferior alveolar artery.
insufficientOf a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement.
There was insufficient evidence to convict him.
jejuneLacking interest or significance or impact.
Jejune responses to our problems.
lackingDeficient or inadequate.
The students are not lacking in intellectual ability.
no goodQuantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns for indicating a complete or almost complete lack or zero quantity of.
not enoughSufficient for the purpose.
not good enoughResulting favorably.
not up to scratchExtending or moving toward a higher place.
poor(of a person) deserving of pity or sympathy.
Oh you poor thing.
scantBarely sufficient or adequate.
She weighed a scant two pounds.
scantyLacking in magnitude or quantity.
They paid whatever they could out of their scanty wages to their families.
scarceOccurring in small numbers or quantities; rare.
The freshwater shrimp becomes scarce in soft water.
shortOf 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.
sparseScanty; in short supply.
Trees were sparse.
substandardFalling short of some prescribed norm.
Substandard spellings.
unequalLacking 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.
unproficientUnskilful, inexpert.
unsatisfactoryNot satisfactory; not good enough.
Years of living in unsatisfactory rented accommodation.
unskilfulNot having or showing skill.
Though kind and willing she was unskilful.
uselessNot 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)

crampedUncomfortably small or restricted.
There is no way a computer will be able to decipher my cramped handwriting.
deficientInsufficient or inadequate.
A deficient education.
discontentedDissatisfied, especially with one’s circumstances.
I am so discontented with my work.
disgruntledIn a state of sulky dissatisfaction.
Judges receive letters from disgruntled members of the public.
dissatisfiedNot content or happy with something.
Dissatisfied customers.
incompletenessThe state of being crude and incomplete and imperfect.
The study was criticized for incompleteness of data but it stimulated further research.
indigentPoor; needy.
A charity for the relief of indigent artists.
inferiorOf low or inferior quality.
Ulcers located in the inferior and posterior wall of the duodenum.
insufferableUsed of persons or their behavior.
The insufferable heat of August in a New York apartment with no air conditioning.
insufficientOf a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement.
Insufficient funds.
intolerableUnable to be endured.
The intolerable pressures of his work.
lackingInadequate in amount or degree.
There was something lacking in our marriage.
meagerDeficient in amount or quality or extent.
Meager resources.
measlyContemptibly small in amount.
A measly tip.
scantProvide grudgingly or in insufficient amounts.
Companies with scant regard for the safety of future generations.
scantyLacking in magnitude or quantity.
Her dress was scanty and revealing.
scarceScarcely.
They scarcely ever used the emergency generator.
substandardFalling short of some prescribed norm.
Substandard spellings.
unacceptableNot acceptable; not welcome.
A word unacceptable in polite society.
unbearableNot able to be endured or tolerated.
The heat was getting unbearable.
undermannedInadequate in number of workers or assistants etc.
undersizedSmaller than normal for its kind.
The undersized cubs may not survive the winter.
unendurableNot able to be tolerated or endured.
Cries of unendurable suffering.
unequalA person or thing regarded as unequal to another in status or level.
She was unequal to the task.
unimaginableDifficult or impossible to imagine or comprehend.
Lives of almost unimaginable deprivation.
unpalatableNot pleasant to taste.
Unpalatable behavior.
unsatisfactoryNot giving satisfaction.
Years of living in unsatisfactory rented accommodation.
unsavoryMorally 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.
wantingNot existing; absent.
They weren t wanting in confidence.
Alexei

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