View synonyms for defective

defective

[dih-fek-tiv]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

Sometimes defected having a defect or flaw; faulty; imperfect.
a defective machine.
Synonyms: deficient, incomplete
Antonyms: complete, perfect
Psychology., characterized by subnormal intelligence or behavior.
Grammar., (of an inflected word or its inflection) lacking one or more of the inflected forms proper to most words of the same class in the language, as English must, which occurs only in the present tense.

noun

a defective person or thing.

defective

/ dɪˈfɛktɪv /

adjective

having a defect or flaw; imperfect; faulty
(of a person) below the usual standard or level, esp in intelligence
grammar (of a word) lacking the full range of inflections characteristic of its form class, as for example must, which has no past tense

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Other Word Forms

defectively adverb
defectiveness noun
nondefective adjective
nondefectively adverb
nondefectiveness noun
predefective adjective
undefective adjective
undefectively adverb
undefectiveness noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of defective¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; from Late Latin dēfectīvus, equivalent to dēfectus ( defect ) + -īvus -ive; replacing Middle English defectif, from Middle French, from Late Latin, as above

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Further tests, including RT-qPCR, immunofluorescence, and biochemical assays, confirmed that lysosomes in these cells were indeed defective.

Related Words

defection defector

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