INSUFFICIENCY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does insufficiency mean? 

• INSUFFICIENCY (noun)
  The noun INSUFFICIENCY has 3 senses:

1. a lack of competence

2. (pathology) inability of a bodily part or organ to function normally

3. lack of an adequate quantity or number

  Familiarity information: INSUFFICIENCY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INSUFFICIENCY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A lack of competence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

inadequacy; insufficiency

Context example:

juvenile offenses often reflect an inadequacy in the parents

Hypernyms ("insufficiency" is a kind of...):

failing; weakness (a flaw or weak point)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(pathology) inability of a bodily part or organ to function normally

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("insufficiency" is a kind of...):

inability; unfitness (lacking the power to perform)

Domain category:

pathology (the branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and effects of diseases)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "insufficiency"):

cardiac insufficiency; coronary insufficiency (inadequate blood flow to the heart muscles; can cause angina pectoris)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Lack of an adequate quantity or number

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

deficiency; inadequacy; insufficiency

Context example:

the inadequacy of unemployment benefits

Hypernyms ("insufficiency" is a kind of...):

amount (the relative magnitude of something with reference to a criterion)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "insufficiency"):

exiguity; leanness; meagerness; meagreness; poorness; scantiness; scantness (the quality of being meager)

deficit; shortage; shortfall (the property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required)

scarceness; scarcity (a small and inadequate amount)

slenderness (the quality of being slight or inadequate)

Antonym:

sufficiency (the quality of being sufficient for the end in view)

Derivation:

insufficient (of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement)

 Context examples 

It has a fast onset and short duration of action and is used in edema and chronic renal insufficiency.

(Furosemide, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Also called premature menopause, premature ovarian failure, and primary ovarian insufficiency.

(Early menopause, NCI Dictionary)

Defects in this gene cause congenital adrenal insufficiency and congenital lipoid adrenal hyperplasia.

(CYP11A1 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

It usually presents in infancy with signs and symptoms of adrenal insufficiency.

(Congenital Adrenal Gland Hypoplasia, NCI Thesaurus)

About 90% of the cases are due to venous insufficiency (VARICOSE ULCER), 5% to arterial disease, and the remaining 5% to other causes.

(Lower Extremity Ulcer, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

It is produced by a functional insufficiency of the thyroid gland, resulting in deficiency of thyroid hormone.

(Myxedema, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Clinical manifestations include headache, visual field disturbances, pituitary insufficiency, and mild hyperprolactinemia.

(Pituitary Gland Macroadenoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Representative examples of non-neoplastic disorders include pancreatitis and pancreatic insufficiency.

(Pancreatic Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)

The symptoms are generally the same with those of immunoglobulin-secreting myeloma; however, the incidence of renal insufficiency is lower in non-secretory myeloma.

(Non-Secretory Myeloma, NCI Thesaurus)

Representative examples include pancreatitis and pancreatic insufficiency.

(Non-Neoplastic Pancreatic Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)