insufficient vs sparse

insufficient

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

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

det
  • An inadequate quantity of; not enough. 

  • A quantity (of something) that is less than is needed. 

sparse

adj
  • Not dense; meager; scanty 

  • Having few nonzero elements 

  • Having widely spaced intervals. 

How often have the words insufficient and sparse occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )