1
as in incomplete
lacking some necessary part
a diet deficient in calcium can lead to weak bones
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
woefully deficient eyesight kept him out of military service
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3
as in lacking
not coming up to an expected measure or meeting a particular need
too deficient in common sense to be trusted to stay by himself
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of deficient
The Lakers trailed for the majority of the game, with their biggest deficient being about 28 points.
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Nina Turner, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
Conversely, deficient skills can leave gaps in team performance, leading to frustration and delays in achieving objectives.
—Gamze Acar Bayraktaroglu, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
This Tuesday's particular presidential election is also the most important election of our lifetimes for a simple additional reason: Harris is the most ideologically left-wing, intellectually deficient, and wildly unprepared presidential candidate in the nation's history.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
In the early seventies, when addicts were viewed as criminals or morally deficient, Gruppo Abele became a nonjudgmental refuge for homeless people and juvenile offenders.
—D. T. Max, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deficient 
Nina Turner, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
Conversely, deficient skills can leave gaps in team performance, leading to frustration and delays in achieving objectives.
—Gamze Acar Bayraktaroglu, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
This Tuesday's particular presidential election is also the most important election of our lifetimes for a simple additional reason: Harris is the most ideologically left-wing, intellectually deficient, and wildly unprepared presidential candidate in the nation's history.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
In the early seventies, when addicts were viewed as criminals or morally deficient, Gruppo Abele became a nonjudgmental refuge for homeless people and juvenile offenders.
—D. T. Max, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deficient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deficient
Adjective
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Of all the legacies of Jimmy Carter, his engagement with the Middle East might have been the most complex and consequential — and perhaps the most painfully incomplete.Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2025
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The dress is thin and flimsy and appears to be incomplete: the ends of the straps dangle in the back instead of being secured on the inside of the bodice.Mia Sato, The Verge, 19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Although party representatives are meant to cede responsibility to the military brass during conflicts, their prominence could complicate the use of AI tools, especially if those technologies recommend politically risky or otherwise unacceptable operations.Sam Bresnick, Foreign Affairs, 31 Dec. 2024
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Drivers overwhelmingly perceive drunk driving as dangerous (95%) and socially unacceptable.Tanya Mohn, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The major components are: Assessing the situation – noting changes, considering what else is going on, and determining if others have noticed anything wrong.R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2025
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After watching Darnold struggle Sunday, that doesn’t feel so wrong.Mike Sando, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Farmers in developing nations face challenges such as low productivity, limited market access, inadequate risk management tools and restricted financial resources.Stefano Carganico, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
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One study in 2020 found that inadequate nutrition can significantly contribute to fatigue in older adults.7 Personality Traits Individuals who are high achievers may struggle to fully relax, said Ahrabi-Nejad.Caitlin Pagán, Verywell Health, 28 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Experience has shown that when any corporation is allowed to operate without competition, higher prices, poor service and predatory business tactics are bound to follow.Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 31 Dec. 2024
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Aristocrats feasted while peasants toiled and poor Parisians starved, and new delicacies like the banana debuted against a backdrop of imperialist adventures.Amy Crawford, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Even so, there are people who insist the Founding Fathers' idea of religious equality is insufficient.Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
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What Anthropic’s experiments seem to show is that reinforcement learning is insufficient as a technique for creating reliably safe models, especially as those models get more advanced.Billy Perrigo, TIME, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2021
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My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.Tim Neville, Outside Online, 23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
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Election years offer even more chances than usual to make bad guesses.Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2024
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The political chaos is compounded by the country’s worst civil aviation accident after a Jeju Air flight crashed on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on-board.Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune Asia, 30 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near deficient
Cite this Entry
“Deficient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deficient. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
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