deficiency

Obsolete, deficience

[dih-fish-uhn-see]

noun

plural

deficiencies 

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

   Synonyms: scarcity, paucity, inadequacy, shortage

2. the amount lacked; a deficit.

deficiency

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• nondeficiency noun
• predeficiency noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of deficiency¹

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

Example Sentences

"It's a pump that will pulse in both sides, to create beating in both chambers, and allow people currently waiting for a transplant, people with terminal heart deficiencies, to keep on living."

Read more on BBC

Finding the optimal pairing means studying factors such as whose strengths might cover up a teammate’s deficiencies on certain types of holes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“Neon Grey Midnight Green” is a record heavy on quotable lines but light on hooks, though the creative arrangements offset some of this deficiency.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

EY said its continuing investments in technology and retaining and training its workforce have been key to shrinking the deficiencies in its audits.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But the report on the Eaton and Palisades fires found glaring deficiencies.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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