# inadequate

Pronunciation: US say "in-AD-uh-kwit" /ɪnˈædəkwɪt/; UK

## Adjective

1. Lacking in the quality or quantity required, and so insufficient for a particular purpose.
   - Simple: Not enough, or not good enough, for what is needed.
   - _The committee found the building's safety measures inadequate and demanded immediate repairs._
   - _Funding for the rural clinics remains woefully inadequate._

## Noun

2. A person regarded as lacking the ability or competence to cope with the demands placed on them.
   - Simple: A person who cannot handle things as well as others need them to.
   - _The harsh manager dismissed the new hires as inadequates unworthy of his team._
   - _Branded an inadequate by his own father, he spent years trying to prove otherwise._

## Origin

Formed from the prefix in-, meaning "not," combined with adequate.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/inadequate (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).