deficiency

American  

[dih-fish-uhn-see] / dɪˈfɪʃ ən si /

Obsolete, deficience

noun

plural

deficiencies

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

• nondeficiency noun
• predeficiency noun

Etymology

Origin of deficiency

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

He attempts to disguise this deficiency with endless boasting about himself and endless denigration of others.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

The Food and Drug Administration approved leucovorin, a drug the Trump administration has touted as a potential therapy for autism, to treat cerebral folate transport deficiency, a neurological disorder with some symptoms similar to autism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

Because many forms of color vision deficiency make it hard to perceive red tones, blood in urine can go unnoticed.

From Science Daily • Mar. 10, 2026

On Tuesday the FDA said it was in fact approving use of leucovorin for a rare condition called cerebral folate deficiency but not for autism.

From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026

A deficiency of these vitamins has been found to accompany mouth cancer and perhaps cancer of other sites in the digestive tract.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

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