insufficiency

[ in-suh-fish-uhn-see ]

noun

, plural in·suf·fi·cien·cies

1. deficiency in amount, force, power, competence, or fitness; inadequacy:

   insufficiency of supplies.

2. an instance of this.
3. inability of an organ or other part of the body to function normally:

   cardiac insufficiency.

insufficiency

/ ˌɪnsəˈfɪʃənsɪ /

noun

1. Also calledinsufficience the state of being insufficient
2. pathol failure in the functioning of an organ, tissue, etc

   cardiac insufficiency

Other Words From

• self-insuf·ficien·cy noun plural selfinsufficiencies

Word History and Origins

Origin of insufficiency¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English word from Late Latin word insufficientia. See insufficient, -ency

Example Sentences

Dowden had to pull out of this year's 20th anniversary series after suffering an "insufficiency stress fracture" on her shin two weeks ago.

From BBC

On Wednesday, she told Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two that she has a "insufficiency stress fracture, if I've said that right, on my shin".

From BBC

Apes are also threatened by the insufficiency of human efforts to protect them.

From Salon

The researchers discovered that vitamin B12 insufficiency during reprogramming or tissue repair resulted in significant epigenetic changes, leading to errors in the function of multiple genes.

From Science Daily

To investigate whether the rapid rollout of the Online Purchasing Pilot played a role in the food insufficiency decline at that time, we teamed up with Jordan Jones, a U.S.

From Salon

Related Words

• deficiency
• inadequacy
• paucity