Deficient — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

inadequate in amount or degree

of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/dɪskwˈɪpæɹənt/

🇬🇧British English

/dɪfˈɪʃənt/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dɪfˈɪʃənt/

3 syllables Say it as /dɪskwˈɪpæɹənt/.

Examples

a deficient education
deficient in common sense
lacking in stamina

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

lacking inferior insufficient wanting substandard

Antonyms

sufficient

Parts of Speech

adjective	inadequate in amount or degree “a deficient education”
adjective	of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement “insufficient funds”
adjective	falling short of some prescribed norm “substandard housing”

Word Forms

deficiency	noun	lack of an adequate quantity or number
insufficiency	noun	lack of an adequate quantity or number
inferiority	noun	the state of being inferior

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

mangelhaft

in Menge oder Ausmaß unzureichend

🇫🇷French

déficient

inadéquat en quantité ou en degré

🇪🇸Spanish

deficiente

inadecuado en cantidad o grado

🇮🇹Italian

carente

inadeguato per quantità o grado

🇳🇱Dutch

tekortschietend

ontoereikend in hoeveelheid of mate

🇵🇹Portuguese

deficiente

inadequado em quantidade ou grau

🇷🇺Russian

несовершенный

неадекватен по количеству или степени

India

🇮🇳Hindi

न्यून

मात्रा या डिग्री में अपर्याप्त

🇧🇩Bengali

অভাব

পরিমাণ বা ডিগ্রিতে অপর্যাপ্ত

🇮🇳Tamil

குறைபாடுள்ள

அளவு அல்லது பட்டம் போதுமானதாக இல்லை

🇮🇳Telugu

లోపము

మొత్తం లేదా డిగ్రీలో సరిపోదు

🇮🇳Marathi

कमतरता

रक्कम किंवा पदवी अपुरी

🇮🇳Gujarati

ઉણપ

રકમ અથવા ડિગ્રીમાં અપૂરતી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕೊರತೆಯಿದೆ

ಪ್ರಮಾಣ ಅಥವಾ ಪದವಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅಸಮರ್ಪಕ

🇮🇳Malayalam

കുറവുള്ള

അളവിലോ ബിരുദത്തിലോ അപര്യാപ്തമാണ്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਕਮੀ

ਮਾਤਰਾ ਜਾਂ ਡਿਗਰੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਨਾਕਾਫ਼ੀ

🇵🇰Urdu

کمی

مقدار یا ڈگری میں ناکافی

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

缺乏的

数量或程度不足

🇯🇵Japanese

不足している

量または程度が不十分である

🇰🇷Korean

부족한

양이나 정도가 부족하다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

thiếu sót

không đủ về số lượng hoặc mức độ

🇹🇭Thai

ขาด

ไม่เพียงพอในปริมาณหรือระดับ

🇮🇩Indonesian

kurang

tidak memadai dalam jumlah atau derajat

🇵🇭Filipino

kulang

hindi sapat sa dami o antas

🇲🇾Malay

kekurangan

tidak mencukupi dalam jumlah atau darjah

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

ناقص

غير كافية من حيث الكمية أو الدرجة

🇮🇷Persian

کمبود

از نظر مقدار یا درجه ناکافی است

🇹🇷Turkish

eksik

miktar veya derece bakımından yetersiz

🇮🇱Hebrew

חָסֵר

לא מספקים בכמות או בדרגה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'deficient'?

The primary meaning of 'deficient' is 'inadequate in amount or degree'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'deficient' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'deficient' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'deficient' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'deficient' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'deficient' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'deficient' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'deficient' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'deficient' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'deficient' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'deficient' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted