Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of deficiency

5 similar words · 6 opposite words

Another word for deficiency is want. Other synonyms of deficiency are lack, shortage and lacking. The opposite of deficiency is excess.

Synonyms and similar words for deficiency

nounInadequacy or incompleteness.

  • lackA deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want, dearth.
  • lackingThe absence of something that is desirable or otherwise ought to be present.
  • lackingnessThe state or condition of being lacking.
  • wantLack, absence, deficiency.

nounAn insufficiency, especially of something essential to health.

  • shortageA lack or deficiency; an insufficient amount.

Opposite of deficiency

nounInadequacy or incompleteness.

  • sufficiency
  • plentyA more-than-adequate amount; plenitude; a great deal.
  • plentitudeAbundance, fullness, completeness; an instance of this.
  • plenitude
  • excessThe state of surpassing or going beyond a limit; the state of being beyond sufficiency, necessity, or duty; more than...
  • surfeit

Meaning of deficiency

  1. noun Inadequacy or incompleteness.
  2. noun An insufficiency, especially of something essential to health.
  3. noun The amount by which the number of double points on a curve is short of the maximum for curves of the same degree.

Full definition of deficiency

deficiency in other languages

Questions about synonyms of deficiency

What is another word for deficiency?
Deficiency has 5 synonyms on Word.ws, such as want, lack, shortage and lacking.
What is the opposite of deficiency?
The opposite of deficiency is excess. Other antonyms of deficiency are plenty.
What does deficiency mean?
Deficiency means inadequacy or incompleteness.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: deficiency (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of deficiency.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/deficiency. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.