deficiency

American  

[dih-fish-uhn-see] / dɪˈfɪʃ ən si /

Obsolete, deficience

noun

deficiencies plural

1. the state of being deficient; lack; incompleteness; insufficiency.

   Synonyms:

   scarcity, paucity, inadequacy, shortage

2. the amount lacked; a deficit.

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deficiency British  

/ dɪˈfɪʃənsɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being deficient

2. a lack or insufficiency; shortage

3. another word for deficit

4. biology the absence of a gene or a region of a chromosome normally present

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondeficiency
  noun
• predeficiency
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• deficiencies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of deficiency

First recorded in 1625–35; from Late Latin dēficientia, Latin dēficient- (stem of dēficiēns ); see origin at deficient, -ency

Explanation

A deficiency is an insufficient amount of something. If you feel sluggish and tired all day, you might have an iron deficiency, meaning you aren't eating enough iron-rich foods. You are most likely to hear the word deficiency in regard to health, like a sleep deficiency. But you can use deficiency to describe other kinds of lack — a deficiency of fun that occurred while your friends were out of town. Deficiency also means a failure or shortcoming, like a deficiency in math class, which might result in a notice from school — known as a deficiency — being mailed to your home.

Example Sentences

Kenny says she has had "many conversations" with athletes suffering with Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport.

From BBC • Dec. 13, 2023

Deficiency of G-CSF also protected against retinopathy, suggesting wide-ranging protection.

From Science Daily • Dec. 11, 2023

The "Deficiency Realm" human existence is a potent force.

From Scientific American • May 3, 2020

“It is miraculous,” said John Boyle, president of the Immune Deficiency Foundation, a national nonprofit group representing patients with immune disorders, many of whom receive immune globulin.

From Washington Post • Nov. 1, 2019

The definition in most general use is the one framed by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of London, and adopted by the English Royal Commission on Mental Deficiency.

From The Measurement of Intelligence An Explanation of and a Complete Guide for the Use of the Stanford Revision and Extension of the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale by Cubberley, Ellwood Patterson

Related Words

• dearth
• defect
• failing
• failure
• fault
• flaw
• frailty
• glitch
• insufficiency
• lack
• scarcity
• shortage
• shortcoming
• weakness