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Webster 1828 Edition


Inadequate

INAD'EQUATE

,
Adj.
[in and adequate. L. adoequatus, from adoequo, to equal.]
1.
Not equal to the purpose; insufficient to effect the object; unequal; as inadequate power, strength, resources.
2.
Not equal to the real state or condition of a thing; not just or in due proportion; partial; incomplete; as inadequate ideas of God, of his perfections, or moral government; an inadequate compensation for services.
3.
Incomplete; defective; not just; as inadequate representation or description.

Definition 2024


inadequate

inadequate

See also: inadéquate

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

inadequate (comparative more inadequate, superlative most inadequate)

  1. Not adequate; unequal to the purpose; insufficient; deficient; as, inadequate resources, power, conceptions, representations, etc.
    • 2013 June 18, Simon Romero, "Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders," New York Times (retrieved 21 June 2013):
      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.

Translations

Noun

inadequate (plural inadequates)

  1. An individual who is inadequate.
    • 2012, Norman T. Feather, The Psychological Impact of Unemployment
      Thus, at some critical level of unemployment, “the unemployed” becomes a negative reference group of inadequates, the hardcore unemployed []