faulty
Americanadjective
-
faultier,
comparative
-
faultiest
superlative
adjective
-
defective or imperfect
-
archaic culpable
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of faulty
First recorded in 1300–50, faulty is from the Middle English word fauty. See fault, -y 1
Explanation
Something that's faulty is full of mistakes — it's wrong. Faulty logic often leads people to make terrible decisions, since they're based on an incorrect way of thinking. A faulty explanation is based on errors, and a faulty machine doesn't work the way it's supposed to. If your chocolate chip cookies keep coming out burned, your stove may be faulty — or you may be baking them too long. If your car's brakes are faulty, it won't stop as quickly as it should, and if your furnace is faulty, it will be a long, cold winter. Faulty and fail share a common Latin root word.
Vocabulary lists containing faulty
Fake It 'Til You Make It: Synonyms for "False"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Drama
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Way Off: Synonyms for "Wrong"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The inquest was told an alarm on the Warrior had been faulty since 2018.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Dutch electronics and medical device manufacturer Philips said Tuesday it had reached a deal "in principle" with US authorities to settle a long-running case over faulty sleep machines.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
This cleanup process, known as RNA degradation, helps regulate protein production, eliminate faulty RNA, and control immune responses.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026
To skim costs in that shift, the company used cheap, faulty battery packs that, it turns out, were the real culprit for the drone failure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
The tug on his shirt he had felt before became a yank, and he stumbled backward, struggling to keep on his feet and to get the faulty lighter to ignite.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Or they just don’t like finding out their memories are faultier than they thought.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 7, 2018
There is no commoner, and at the same time faultier, way of reasoning, than that of objecting to a philosophical hypothesis the injury it may do to morals and to religion.
From The Heavenly Father Lectures on Modern Atheism by Henry Downton
Colburn's First Lessons, the only faultiest school book that we have, has made a great change in the mode of teaching Arithmetic, and is destined to make a still greater.
From Rollo in Holland by Jacob Abbott
His next poem was "Annus Mirabilis," published in 1667, and counted justly one of his most vigorous, though also one of the faultiest of his poems.
From The Poetical Works of John Dryden, Volume 1 With Life, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes by John Dryden
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
