deficient
Americanadjective
-
lacking some element or characteristic; defective.
deficient in taste.
-
insufficient; inadequate.
deficient knowledge.
noun
adjective
-
lacking some essential; incomplete; defective
-
inadequate in quantity or supply; insufficient
Other Word Forms
- deficiently adverb
- nondeficient adjective
- nondeficiently adverb
- predeficient adjective
- predeficiently adverb
- undeficient adjective
- undeficiently adverb
Etymology
Origin of deficient
First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin dēficient-, stem of dēficiēns “failing,” present participle of dēficere “to fail, run short, lack, weaken,” from dē- de- + ficere, combining form of facere “to do, make” ( do 1 )
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.
These provide calories but lack the sterols bees need, leaving colonies nutritionally deficient.
From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026
The agreement Barnett reached with LaBeouf “contained a deficient and unlawful NDA that is unenforceable,” under California’s Stand Together Against Non-Disclosure Act, according to the complaint.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
Deere leverages AI to help farmers cut costs—by reducing labor required to operate equipment, minimizing wasted crop chemicals, and applying fertilizer more precisely where soil nutrients are deficient.
From Barron's • Feb. 2, 2026
Meanwhile, older people think I’m somehow financially deficient because I rent.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026
On bad days it was a reminder of all the ways I am deficient.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
