insufficiency Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a lack of competence
    inadequacy.
    • pointed out the insufficiencies in my report
    • juvenile offenses often reflect an inadequacy in the parents
  2. noun (pathology) inability of a bodily part or organ to function normally
  3. noun lack of an adequate quantity or number
    deficiency; inadequacy.
    • the inadequacy of unemployment benefits

WordNet

In`suf*fi"cien*cy noun
Etymology
L. insufficientia: cf. F. insuffisance, whence OE. insuffisance. See Insufficient.
Definitions
  1. The quality or state of being insufficient; want of sufficiency; deficiency; inadequateness; as, the insufficiency of provisions, of an excuse, etc.
    The insufficiency of the light of nature is, by the light of Scripture, . . . fully supplied. Hooker.
  2. Want of power or skill; inability; incapacity; incompetency; as, the insufficiency of a man for an office.

Webster 1913