- lacking in some essential; incomplete; defective
- inadequate in amount, quality, or degree; not sufficient
Origin of deficient
Classical Latin deficiens: see deficiency a deficient person or thing
adjective
The definition of deficient is a person of thing that is incomplete or lacking something needed.
An example of deficient is a person who does not have enought iron; the person is iron deficient.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"deficient." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/deFIcient>.
APA Style
deficient. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/deFIcient
deficient
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"deficient." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/deFIcient>.
APA Style
deficient. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/deFIcient
deficient
adjective
- Lacking an essential quality or element: deficient in common sense.
- Inadequate in amount or degree; insufficient: a deficient education.
Origin of deficient
Latin dēficiēns dēficient- present participle of dēficere to fail, be wanting ; see defect .Related Forms:
- de·fi′cient
noun
- de·fi′cient·ly
adverb
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"deficient." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/deFIcient>.
APA Style
deficient. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/deFIcient
Adjective
(comparative more deficient, superlative most deficient)
- Lacking something essential; often construed with in.
- Insufficient or inadequate in amount.
Origin
See also: déficientFrom Latin deficiens, present participle of deficere (“to lack, fail, be wanting”); see defect.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"deficient." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/deFIcient>.
APA Style
deficient. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/deFIcient
Sentence Examples
- They are both deficient in solidity and in permanent interest.
- Fortunately Frederick had never been deficient in courage.
- In 1875, however, when the revenue had become deficient after the crisis of 1873, the io per cent.
- These hybrids produce a lint which is long and silky, but often deficient in strength: selection for strength amongst the hybrids, with due regard to length, may overcome this.
- A considerable hindrance to the development of the empire's resources has been the lack of an adequate system of communications; but although it is still deficient in good roads, much has been done of late years to develop railways, extend canals and improve river communications.
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