Words nearby lack
lachrymose, lachute, lacing, lacinia, laciniate, lack, lackadaisical, lackaday, lackawanna, lacker, lackey
Origin of lack
1125–75; Middle English lak; cognate with Middle Low German lak, Middle Dutch lac deficiency; akin to Old Norse lakr deficient
SYNONYMS FOR lack
synonym study for lack
3. Lack, want, need, require as verbs all stress the absence of something desirable, important, or necessary. Lack means to be without or to have less than a desirable quantity of something: to lack courage, sufficient money, enough members to make a quorum. Want may imply some urgency in fulfilling a requirement or a desire: Willing workers are badly wanted. The room wants some final touch to make it homey. Need often suggests even more urgency than does want stressing the necessity of supplying what is lacking: to need an operation, better food, a match to light the fire. Require, which expresses necessity as strongly as need, occurs most frequently in serious or formal contexts: Your presence at the hearing is required. Successful experimentation requires careful attention to detail.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for lacks
British Dictionary definitions for lacks
lack
/ (læk) /
noun
an insufficiency, shortage, or absence of something required or desired
something that is required but is absent or in short supply
verb
(when intr, often foll by in or for) to be deficient (in) or have need (of)to lack purpose
Word Origin for lack
C12: related to Middle Dutch laken to be wanting
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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