deficiency

[ dih-fish-uhn-see ]
See synonyms for deficiency on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural de·fi·cien·cies.
  1. the state of being deficient; lack; incompleteness; insufficiency.

  2. the amount lacked; a deficit.

Origin of deficiency

1
First recorded in 1625–35; from Late Latin dēficientia, Latin dēficient- (stem of dēficiēns ); see origin at deficient, -ency
  • Also Obsolete, deficience [dih-fish-uhns] /dɪˈfɪʃ əns/ .

Other words for deficiency

Other words from deficiency

  • non·de·fi·cien·cy, noun, plural non·de·fi·cien·cies.
  • pre·de·fi·cien·cy, noun, plural pre·de·fi·cien·cies.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use deficiency in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for deficiency

deficiency

/ (dɪˈfɪʃənsɪ) /


nounplural -cies
  1. the state or quality of being deficient

  2. a lack or insufficiency; shortage

  1. another word for deficit

  2. biology the absence of a gene or a region of a chromosome normally present

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