deficient

[ dih-fish-uhnt ]

adjective

1. lacking some element or characteristic; defective:

   deficient in taste.

2. insufficient; inadequate:

   deficient knowledge.

noun

1. a person who is deficient, especially one who is mentally defective.

deficient

/ dɪˈfɪʃənt /

adjective

1. lacking some essential; incomplete; defective
2. inadequate in quantity or supply; insufficient

Derived Forms

• deˈficiently, adverb

Other Words From

• de·ficient·ly adverb
• nonde·ficient adjective
• nonde·ficient·ly adverb
• prede·ficient adjective
• prede·ficient·ly adverb
• unde·ficient adjective
• unde·ficient·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of deficient¹

First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin dēficient-, stem of dēficiēns “failing,” present participle of dēficere “to fail, run short, lack, weaken,” from dē- de- + ficere, combining form of facere “to do, make” ( do ¹ )

Word History and Origins

Origin of deficient¹

C16: from Latin dēficiēns lacking, from dēficere to fall short; see defect

Example Sentences

Even the recent Red List assessment that found over two-fifths of coral reef species threatened with extinction added there are some species where data is so deficient that a risk category cannot be assigned.

From Salon

Experiments showed that flu viruses were able to replicate more rapidly and induce higher levels of inflammation in mice deficient in IFITM3 compared to normal mice.

From Science Daily

Trump would never agree with people he says are destroying America, want to destroy the First Amendment, are communists, murder babies and are mentally deficient.

From Salon

Priorities: I would speak to the tenured professors and administrators to see what is deficient and what can be better.

From Los Angeles Times

In the filing, the US accused TikTok of implementing "deficient" ways of screening for accounts created by children and obstructing parents when they tried to delete them.

From BBC

Related Words

• defective
• faulty
• flawed
• impaired
• incomplete
• inferior
• insufficient
• lacking
• scarce
• skimpy
• unsatisfactory
• weak