喜樂美語
  1. 1a/ˌɪnsəˈfɪʃənt/不足的；不夠的

    正式not enough for what you need, or not great enough

    「insufficient」是正式說法裡的「不夠／不足」——時間、錢、證據、資料都常這樣講。insufficient time 是「時間不夠」，insufficient evidence 是「證據不足」。句型常接 for（insufficient for our needs＝對需要來說不夠）或 to V（insufficient to draw conclusions＝還不夠用來下結論）。跟 not enough 比：意思很近，但 insufficient 更正式，多出現在報告、通知、考試說明。核心畫面可以想成「還差一截——還沒到需要的量」。

    示範例句 · Example

    There was insufficient evidence to support the science-fair claim.

    中文翻譯有不足的證據去支持這個科學展的主張。

    常見搭配

    • insufficient evidence

      證據不足

      not enough facts or proof to support a claim

      The teacher said there was insufficient evidence for that conclusion.

    • insufficient funds

      餘額／資金不足

      not enough money in an account for a payment

      The payment failed because of insufficient funds.

    • insufficient time

      時間不足

      not enough time to do something properly

      We had insufficient time to check every answer.

    • insufficient for

      對…來說不夠

      not enough for a particular need or purpose

      One small box was insufficient for all the books.

    • insufficient to do something

      不足以去做某事

      not enough to make an action or result possible

      The notes were insufficient to explain the whole idea.

    • insufficient attention / information / data

      注意力／資訊／資料不足

      not enough care, facts, or numbers for what is needed

      The report gave insufficient information about the trip plan.

    用法接近

    not enoughtoo littleinadequatein short supply

core核心畫面

From the word’s history

From Middle French insufficient, from Latin insufficiens; in- + sufficient.

源自拉丁文 insufficiens，即 in- 加 sufficient。

Wiktionary

Picture a measuring line marked 'what this needs' and the amount you actually have sitting below it. Nothing is wrong with the amount in itself — it is only short of what this particular job asks for. That gap between what is needed and what is there is the whole word.

可以想成：有一條線標著「這件事需要的量」，而你手上的量停在線下面。那個量本身沒有好壞，只是不到這件事要求的高度。insufficient 講的就是「需要的」和「實際有的」之間那段差距。

容易混在一起的字在訂閱裡。容易混在一起的字需要訂閱帳號。

用法接近

not enoughtoo littleinadequatein short supply

原始詞典資料4 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

insufficientdet/ɪnsəˈfɪʃənt/

  • 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.

insufficientadj/ɪnsəˈfɪʃənt/

  • 1

    Not sufficient; of a type or kind that does not suffice, that does not satisfy requirements or needs.

    • an insufficient amount
    • an insufficient degree
  • 2

    Not sufficient; lacking competent power or ability; unqualified, unequal, unfit.

    • Brother Coſroe, I find my ſelfe agreeu’d, Yet inſufficient to expreſſe the ſame: For it requires a great and thundering ſpeech: […]

摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。