Dictionary.com

deficiency

[ dih-fish-uhn-see ]
/ dɪˈfɪʃ ən si /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: deficiency / deficiencies on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural de·fi·cien·cies.
the state of being deficient; lack; incompleteness; insufficiency.
the amount lacked; a deficit.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Also Obsolete, deficience [dih-fish-uhns] /dɪˈfɪʃ əns/ .

Origin of deficiency

First recorded in 1625–35; from Late Latin dēficientia, Latin dēficient- (stem of dēficiēns ); see origin at 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use deficiency in a sentence

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
FEEDBACK