inadequate

Etymology

in- + adequate

adj

1. Not adequate; not fit for the purpose.
   inadequate resources
   inadequate representation
   I had not yet seen Mrs. Kennedy. I wondered with what inadequate words I could try to console her. 1971, Lyndon Johnson, “The Beginning”, in The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 12
   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. June 18 2013, Simon Romero, “Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders”, in New York Times, retrieved 2013-06-21
   By the 21st century, the clearly inadequate facilities needed to be replaced, so the area was rebuilt and modernised between 2009-13 as part of regeneration efforts focused upon the wider area. January 12 2022, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: the nation's finest stations: Wakefield Kirkgate”, in RAIL, number 948, page 28
   “Russia is a terrorist country whose leader is an inadequate person”. Putin's failings are evident to the “entire world”, he said. 29 June 2023, Metro, London, page 13, column 5

noun

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