How to Use inadequate in a Sentence

inadequate

adjective
Definition of inadequatenext
Synonyms for inadequatenext
  • I felt inadequate to the task.
  • These supplies are inadequate to meet our needs.
  • Her brother's success and popularity always made her feel inadequate.
  • We were given very inadequate information.
  • One of the hardest things to feel in life is inadequate.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 8 Feb. 2023
  • But at the moment that is inadequate salve for what has been lost.
    — Bill Oram, oregonlive, 5 Aug. 2023
  • So, close your eyes and take a trip back through time to consider who and what might have led you to feel inadequate.
    — Svetlana Whitener, Forbes, 25 Aug. 2022
  • Sometimes, a claim is both false and based on an inadequate set of data.
    — Joedy McCreary, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2024
  • Still, that move has been seen as inadequate by those who just want to be able to tinker with and fix their own machines.
    — WIRED, 22 Aug. 2022
  • Sometimes, a claim is both false and based on an inadequate set of data.
    — Joedy McCreary, USA TODAY, 2 Nov. 2024
  • The parents of all three victims said that the schools’ response was inadequate and that their children’s assailants were still at the same school.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 May 2022
  • Young said inadequate staffing at the store is one of the chief complaints of union organizers.
    — CBS News, 19 July 2022
  • Unrestricted cash has a lot of power to be able to fill in places where the safety net is inadequate.
    — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 25 July 2024
  • First, the law is often highly inadequate, and can at times threaten, in the EFF’s words, to also be a chainsaw when only a scalpel will do.
    — WIRED, 22 Sep. 2023
  • The world will continue to warm, the damage will increase, and the global response will be inadequate.
    — Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2023
  • The narrative of child care in the U.S. is one of scarcity — an inadequate supply of affordable care for the nation’s youngest children.
    — Jenny Gold, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2023
  • The scissor jacks that come with most new cars, trucks, and SUVs are woefully inadequate.
    — Wes Siler, Outside Online, 24 Aug. 2022
  • As Kevin’s direct supervisor, Big Greg makes Kevin feel inadequate as a provider and a man.
    — Joe Otterson, Variety, 19 July 2022
  • Workers at the Lakewood store wrote in their open letter that raises have been inadequate and that there is no clear roadmap for promotions.
    — Suhauna Hussainstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2022
  • Insta360 has previously been called out by users for its inadequate field of view but thankfully, the brand has listened to those calls.
    — New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2024
  • Our case, where the judge found that the environmental analysis of the enrollment was inadequate, is still in the Courts of Appeal.
    — Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2022
  • My equipment was inadequate and unsafe, and the situation could have gone from bad to worse, very quickly.
    — Wes Siler, Outside Online, 14 Oct. 2024
  • To be sure, the capacity at the border is inadequate to meet the demands of the current situation.
    — Wendy Edelberg and Tara Watson, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
  • The critics are already calling the code inadequate and see it as proof that the Justices will bend to political pressure.
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 13 Nov. 2023
  • If the person doesn’t exercise enough to cause differential blood flow (or the dose of medicine is inadequate), the stress test may come out negative.
    — Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 17 Aug. 2023
  • Framing Ruscha as a history or landscape painter is inadequate to cover the full, thrilling scope of his creative life.
    — Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2023
  • In the 1990s, a group of superintendents, districts and parents sued the state over inadequate funding.
    — Becca Savransky, ProPublica, 6 Sep. 2023
  • Clearly, there is no shame in feeling a little inadequate compared to her.
    — Shannon Carlin, TIME, 19 Apr. 2024
  • The most common reason African violets stop flowering is inadequate lighting.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Jan. 2025
  • The establishment had health hazards including raw food stored over cooked food, inadequate hand-washing facilities, expired food items and a lack of food-handler certifications.
    — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Jan. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inadequate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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