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shortcoming
Use
Shortcoming
in a sentence
short·com·ing
/
ˈʃɔrtˌkʌm
ɪŋ
/
Show Spelled
[
shawrt
-kuhm-ing
]
Show IPA
noun
a failure, defect, or deficiency in conduct, condition, thought, ability, etc.:
a social shortcoming; a shortcoming of his philosophy.
Origin:
1670–80;
short
+
coming
Synonyms
fault, flaw, failing, weakness.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To
shortcoming
Collins
World English Dictionary
shortcoming
(ˈʃɔːtˌkʌmɪŋ)
—
n
a failing, defect, or deficiency
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Relevant Questions
What Are Shortcomings?
What Are Shortcomings?
00:10
Shortcoming
is a GRE word you need to know.
So is
amortize
. Does it mean:
So is
rhetoric
. Does it mean:
So is
obloquy
. Does it mean:
action to produce future advantage, chess sacrifice
To liquidate or extinguish a mortgage, debt, or other obligation, esp. by periodic payments to the creditor or to a sinking fund.
person's manner
the undue use of exaggeration or display in writing or speech; bombast
of, pertaining to, or of the nature of a preface:
censure, blame, or abusive language aimed at a person or thing, esp. by numerous persons or by the general public.
LEARN MORE GRE WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
shortcoming
1680, from the phrase to come short "be inadequate" (1579); see
short
(adj.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Although this line of research yielded some major insights, it had an obvious
shortcoming
.
Another
shortcoming
is that the definition of a coastal county is somewhat
problematic.
The
shortcoming
is not with our brains, its with our languages.
However, for all its strengths, measurements have a
shortcoming
.
Its
shortcoming
is that it tends not to be too stable once the bottle is opened.
The problem is not the
shortcoming
of the law itself, but rather the reluctance of the agents of the law to apply it.
The main
shortcoming
about this paper for me is that it does not highlight the evolutionary history of this adaptation.
The book's main
shortcoming
, however, is in what it overlooks.
Even if patents are the moneymaker du jour in the tech industry, that
shortcoming
limits the appeal of either a sale or a spinoff.
Our
shortcoming
-forgive the academic jargon-is discursive.
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Related Words
defect
fault
fault
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Matching Quote
"Fashions change, and with the new psychoanalytical perspective of the postwar period [WWII], child rearing became enshrined as the special responsibility of mothers ... any
shortcoming
in adult life was now seen as rooted in the failure of mothering during childhood."
-Sylvia Ann Hewitt
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Synonyms
imperfection
deficiency
weakness
drawback
failing
defect
lapse
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Synonym Game
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