Puutteellisiin

Puutteellisiin is a Finnish adjective form that functions as the illative plural of puutteellinen, meaning incomplete or deficient. It is used to describe a plural noun in the illative case, indicating movement toward or reference to incomplete items, often in a figurative sense such as data, evidence, or information.

In Finnish, adjectives agree with the noun they modify in number and case. The illative plural form puutteellisiin is built from the base puutteell- with the illative plural ending -iin. The corresponding forms include puutteellinen (singular nominative), puutteelliset (plural nominative), puutteelliseen (singular illative), and puutteellisiin (plural illative). The noun being described is typically omitted when the illative plural is used, or it appears explicitly in illative plural as part of a phrase such as puutteellisiin tietoihin or puutteellisiin havaintoihin.

Common usage involves expressing that conclusions, decisions, or inferences rely on incomplete or insufficient data. For example: Päätös tehtiin puutteellisiin tietoihin vedoten. Tutkija ei voi tehdä luotettavia johtopäätöksiä puutteellisiin tietoihin perustuen. These constructions are common in formal writing, research reporting, and analytic discourse.

Related terms include puutteellinen (incomplete/deficient), epätäydellinen (not complete), and vajavainen (faulty or deficient). Puutteellisiin specifically conveys the sense of “to the incomplete items” in illative plural, highlighting multiple elements that are lacking or insufficient.

The term is primarily used in Finnish-language contexts dealing with data quality, research methodology, or evaluative statements about evidence. It reflects a neutral, descriptive register when assessing completeness.