- defective, deficient
- When something is not working properly, it is defective; when it is missing a necessary part, it is deficient.
Dictionary of troublesome word. Bill Bryson. 2013.
defective, deficient
Look at other dictionaries:
defective, deficient — The first of these terms should be related to defect, the second to deficit. For example, money that is counterfeit is defective because of its defect. Money is deficient if there is not enough of it. Defect is the general word for any kind of… … Dictionary of problem words and expressions
defective, deficient — When something is not working properly, it is defective; when it is missing a necessary part, it is deficient … Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors
defective, deficient — When something is not working properly, it is defective; when it is missing a necessary part, it is deficient … Dictionary of troublesome word
deficient — defective, deficient Defective means ‘having a defect (= fault)’, whereas deficient means ‘having a deficiency (or lack)’. So eyesight, components, goods, logic, mechanisms, products, workmanship, etc., can all be defective if they are not… … Modern English usage
defective — defective, deficient Defective means ‘having a defect (= fault)’, whereas deficient means ‘having a deficiency (or lack)’. So eyesight, components, goods, logic, mechanisms, products, workmanship, etc., can all be defective if they are not… … Modern English usage
defective — *deficient Analogous words: impaired, damaged, injured, marred (see INJURE): vitiated, corrupted, debased (see under DEBASE): deranged, disordered (see DISORDER) Antonyms: intact Contrasted words: *perfect, entire, whole: complete, *full, plenary … New Dictionary of Synonyms
deficient — deficiently, adv. /di fish euhnt/, adj. 1. lacking some element or characteristic; defective: deficient in taste. 2. insufficient; inadequate: deficient knowledge. n. 3. a person who is deficient, esp. one who is mentally defective. [1575 85; < L … Universalium
deficient — I. adjective Etymology: Latin deficient , deficiens, present participle of deficere to be wanting more at defect Date: 1581 1. lacking in some necessary quality or element < deficient in judgment > 2. not up to a normal standard or complement ;… … New Collegiate Dictionary
deficient — See defective. See defective, deficient … Dictionary of problem words and expressions
defective — See defective, deficient … Dictionary of problem words and expressions
