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deficiency

[ dih-fish-uhn-see ]
/ dɪˈfɪʃ ən si /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR deficiency ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural de·fi·cien·cies.

the state of being deficient; lack; incompleteness; insufficiency.
the amount lacked; a deficit.

QUIZZES

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Commas mark divisions in sentences. Periods end declarative sentences. Apostrophes show possession. Easy, right? Well, punctuation can get pretty tricky—fast. Think you got what it takes to be a punctuation expert? Take our quiz to prove it!
Question 1 of 10
Which of the options below is the best punctuation for the sentence? It__s your turn to pick the movie __ but your sister gets to pick the board game we _ re going to play.
Its your turn to pick the movie but your sister gets to pick the board game we’re going to play.
It’s your turn to pick the movie but your sister gets to pick the board game were going to play.
It’s your turn to pick the movie, but your sister gets to pick the board game we’re going to play.
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Origin of deficiency

1625–35; < Late Latin dēficientia, Latin dēficient- (stem of dēficiēns). See deficient, -ency

OTHER WORDS FROM deficiency

non·de·fi·cien·cy, noun, plural non·de·fi·cien·cies.pre·de·fi·cien·cy, noun, plural pre·de·fi·cien·cies.

Words nearby deficiency

defibrillation, defibrillator, defibrinate, defibrination, deficience, deficiency, deficiency account, deficiency disease, deficiency judgment, deficiency symptom, deficient
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to deficiency

flaw, failing, failure, weakness, lack, defect, dearth, glitch, insufficiency, shortcoming, scarcity, shortage, frailty, fault, loss, privation, default, demerit, bug, paucity

Example sentences from the Web for deficiency

British Dictionary definitions for deficiency

deficiency
/ (dɪˈfɪʃənsɪ) /

noun plural -cies

the state or quality of being deficient
a lack or insufficiency; shortage
another word for deficit
biology the absence of a gene or a region of a chromosome normally present
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for deficiency

deficiency
[ dĭ-fĭsh′ən-sē ]

n.

A lack or shortage of something essential to health; an insufficiency.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.