deficient

UK/dɪˈfɪʃənt/

deficient adjective: lacking something essential; often construed with in.

Adjective

deficient (comparative more deficient, superlative most deficient)

Lacking something essential; often construed with in.
- They were deficient in social skills.
- His voice is beautiful but deficient in power.
Synonyms:

absent, poor in, void of, awanting, bereft of, deficient of, deprived of, destitute of, devoid of, lacking
Insufficient or inadequate in amount.
- Apothecia lecanoroid; multilocular; each cell containing a single theke; paraphyses deficient.1882, Edward Tuckerman, Henry Willey, A Synopsis of the North American Lichens (part 1)
Of a number n, Having the sum of divisors σ(n) < 2n, or, equivalently, the sum of proper divisors (or aliquot sum) s(n) < n.

Noun

deficient (plural deficients)

A person who is deficient.
- This was justified by the rationale that mental deficients, by definition, are not able to succeed in society.2004, Steven Noll, James Trent, Mental Retardation in America: A Historical Reader, page 316

deficient meaning in Marathi, Urdu, Bengali and Telugu

deficient in Marathi

deficient, defective, imperfect: अपूर्ण apūrṇa
deficient, defective, insufficient: हीन hīn

deficient in Urdu

کچا, کم, خام, نامکمل, ناتمام, ناقص

deficient in Bengali

deficient: ন্যূন nun

deficient in Telugu

deficient: వెలితి veliti
deficient, defective: న్యూనము nyūnamu

More languagesFewer languages

deficient in Malayalam: കുറഞ്ഞ, അപര്യാപ്തമായ, പോരാത്ത, മതിയാംവണ്ണമില്ലാത്ത
deficient in Gujarati: ઊણપવાળું ūṇapvāḷũ, ઓછું ochũ
deficient in Odia: କମ୍ kam, ନ୍ୟୂନ nyuna, ଖଣ୍ଡ khaṇḍa
deficient in Sanskrit: ऊन ūna
deficient in Indonesian: defisien

Examples of deficient in a sentence

The crewing of the vessel before the crash was deficient.
After becoming deficient in vitamin A, the patient became xerophthalmic.
He was strikingly deficient in good sense.

All 29 example sentences with deficient

Synonyms of deficient

absent
poor in
void of
awanting
bereft of
deficient of
deprived of
destitute of
devoid of
lacking

5 more synonymsFewer synonyms

leer
robbed of
shorn of
stripped of
wanting

All synonyms of deficient

Forms of deficient

Adjective
comparative	more deficient
superlative	most deficient
Noun
plural	deficients

Origin of deficient

From Latin deficiens, present participle of deficere (“to lack, fail, be wanting”); see defect.

Words formed from deficient

Phrases with deficient

deficient numbers

Questions about deficient

What does deficient mean?: Deficient means lacking something essential; often construed with in.
What is deficient in Marathi?: Deficient in Marathi is अपूर्ण (apūrṇa), हीन (hīn). See Deficient meaning in Marathi.
What part of speech is deficient?: Deficient can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce deficient?: Deficient is pronounced /dɪˈfɪʃənt/ (UK).

Words near deficient in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-deficient.ogg.

Cite this entry: “deficient.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/deficient. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.