Inadequate Meaning
/ɪnˈædəkwɪt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjNot adequate; lacking in quality or quantity required; insufficient for a purpose.
nounA person who is inadequate.
Sentence Examples
The road is inadequate for the amount of traffic which it carries.
This complex situation arose because signals from the environment itself can be inadequate.
The chief pronounced that the technique was inadequate.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The small amount of food was clearly ____ for the large hungry crowd.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The small amount of food provided was clearly ____ to feed the large crowd of people.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English in- Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Italic *aikʷos Latin aiquos Latin aequus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin aequō Latin adaequō Latin adaequātuslbor. English adequate English inadequate From in- + adequate.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I had not yet seen Mrs. Kennedy. I wondered with what inadequate words I could try to console her."
— 1971, Lyndon Johnson, “The Beginning”, in The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 12:
"In a convulsion that has caught many in Brazil and beyond by surprise, waves of protesters denounced their leaders for dedicating so many resources to cultivating Brazil’s global image by building stadiums for international events, when basic services like education and health care remain woefully inadequate."
— 2013 June 18, Simon Romero, “Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders”, in New York Times, retrieved 21 Jun 2013:
"By the 21st century, the clearly inadequate facilities needed to be replaced, so the area was rebuilt and modernised between 2009-13 as part of regeneration efforts focused upon the wider area."
— 2022 January 12, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: the nation's finest stations: Wakefield Kirkgate”, in RAIL, number 948, page 28:
"“Russia is a terrorist country whose leader is an inadequate person”. Putin's failings are evident to the “entire world”, he said."
— 2023 June 29, Metro, London, page 13, column 5:
"Thus, at some critical level of unemployment, “the unemployed” becomes a negative reference group of inadequates, the hardcore unemployed […]"
— 2012, Norman T. Feather, The Psychological Impact of Unemployment:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The small amount of food was clearly ____ for the large hungry crowd.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The small amount of food provided was clearly ____ to feed the large crowd of people.