insufficienti

Insufficienti is the plural masculine form of the Italian adjective insufficiente, meaning not enough or inadequate. It is used to describe quantities, evidence, resources, or qualifications that do not meet a required standard. For example, risorse insufficienti means insufficient resources, dati insufficienti means insufficient data, and prove insufficienti would be an uncommon but understandable construction in contexts where plural feminine nouns are involved.

Etymology and forms: The term derives from the Latin insufficiens, from in- (not) + sufficientia (sufficiency). In Italian, adjectives ending in -e have the same form for masculine and feminine singular (insufficiente). The plural form is insufficienti, used for both masculine and feminine nouns in the plural (e.g., uomini insufficienti, donne insufficienti, risorse insufficienti).

Usage notes: Insufficienti is primarily an attributive or predicative adjective. It is not typically used as a standalone noun in standard Italian, though in some rare or rhetorical contexts one might encounter the plural noun form referring to people described as lacking adequacy. The term is common in formal, technical, or administrative language when assessing adequacy, sufficiency of data, or sufficiency of resources.

See also: insufficienza, sufficienza, adequatezza.