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

Example Sentences

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

From Salon • Mar. 28, 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

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the approval could help those with cerebral folate transport deficiency “who have developmental delays with autistic features.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

"Then, depending on a number of factors that may impact one's cancer risk, a fiber deficiency may increase your risk for certain cancers, such as colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer."

From Science Daily • Mar. 8, 2026

A likely reason for the failure of cereal agriculture to arise in New Guinea is a glaring deficiency of the wild starting material: not one of the world’s 56 largest-seeded wild grasses is native there.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

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