insufficient
in·suf·fi·cient/ɪnsəˈfɪʃənt/determiner, adjective
insufficient is spelled I-N-S-U-F-F-I-C-I-E-N-T, 4 syllables: in·suf·fi·cient. The wrong spelling people search most is insufficent: about 150 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026). Insufficient is a determiner meaning “An inadequate quantity of; not enough”.
How many letters and syllables are in insufficient?
| Letters | 12: I-N-S-U-F-F-I-C-I-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: in·suf·fi·cient |
| In writing | 5.9 times per million words; the 10,028th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, insufficent, about 150 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell insufficient?
Insufficient is spelled I-N-S-U-F-F-I-C-I-E-N-T. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is insufficient?
Insufficient appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce insufficient?
- /ɪnsəˈfɪʃənt/
Insufficient has 4 syllables, split in·suf·fi·cient in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-insufficient.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of insufficient
- more insufficient comparative
- most insufficient superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does insufficient mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
determiner
- 1
An inadequate quantity of; not enough.
Insufficient time is available to reflect on the problem.
- 2
A quantity (of something) that is less than is needed.
Insufficient of the building remains to determine its age.
adjective
- 1
Not sufficient; of a type or kind that does not suffice, that does not satisfy requirements or needs.
an insufficient amount
- 2
Not sufficient; lacking competent power or ability; unqualified, unequal, unfit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does insufficient come from?
From Middle French insufficient, from Latin insufficiens. See also in- + sufficient.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).