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

Other Word Forms

• deficiently adverb
• nondeficient adjective
• nondeficiently adverb
• predeficient adjective
• predeficiently adverb
• undeficient adjective
• undeficiently 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

Attorney Mark Zaid called the firing “legally deficient,” as she can only be fired directly by the president.

From Salon

But on Wednesday, the High Court ruled that these inquiries were "deficient", ordering a new "robust" investigation.

From BBC

Yvette Cooper, who is responsible for the Security Service, made a written statement to Parliament a day after the High Court ruled MI5's explanations for its false evidence were deficient and unreliable.

From BBC

The High Court has ordered a "robust and independent" new investigation into how MI5 gave false evidence to multiple courts, after rejecting two official inquiries provided by the Security Service as seriously "deficient".

From BBC

The White House said Harvard had failed to provide sufficient information to the DHS about "foreign students' known illegal or dangerous activities" and reported "deficient data on only three students".

From BBC

Related Words

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