DEFECTIVE: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for DEFECTIVE?

Need another word that means the same as “defective”? Find 18 synonyms and 30 related words for “defective” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Defective” are: faulty, bad, flawed, imperfect, shoddy, inoperative, not working, malfunctioning, out of order, unsound, lacking, wanting, deficient, inadequate, insufficient, short, low, scant

Defective as an Adjective

Definitions of "Defective" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “defective” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Having mental disabilities.
• Not working properly.
• Markedly subnormal in structure or function or intelligence or behavior.
• Lacking or deficient.
• (of a word) not having all the inflections normal for the part of speech.
• Imperfect or faulty.
• Having a defect.

Synonyms of "Defective" as an adjective (18 Words)

bad	Feeling physical discomfort or pain tough is occasionally used colloquially for bad. A bad storm.
deficient	Not having enough of a specified quality or ingredient. A deficient education.
faulty	(of reasoning and other mental processes) mistaken or misleading because of flaws. He submitted a faulty report.
flawed	(of a person) having a weakness in character. A flawed diamond.
imperfect	(of a cadence) ending on the dominant chord. Imperfect mortals.
inadequate	Lacking the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task. An inadequate income.
inoperative	Not working or taking effect. An inoperative law.
insufficient	Of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement. Insufficient funds.
lacking	Inadequate in amount or degree. The students are not lacking in intellectual ability.
low	Used of sounds and voices low in pitch or frequency. Low back pain.
malfunctioning	Not performing or able to perform its regular function. A malfunctioning valve.
not working	Adopted as a temporary basis for further work.
out of order	Not allowed to continue to bat or run.
scant	Barely amounting to a specified number or quantity. She weighed a scant two pounds.
shoddy	Cheap and shoddy Judith Crist. We re not paying good money for shoddy goods.
short	Tending to crumble or break into flakes due to a large amount of shortening. Regularly gives short weight.
unsound	Physically unsound or diseased. This line of argument is unsound.
wanting	Lacking in a required or necessary quality. Mandibles are wanting in many of these insects.

Usage Examples of "Defective" as an adjective

• Complaints over defective goods.
• I returned the appliance because it was defective.
• A defective appliance.
• Defective speech.
• Dystrophin is commonly defective in muscle tissue.

Associations of "Defective" (30 Words)

defect	A failing or deficiency. This device permits detection of defects in the lungs.
deficiency	The amount by which something, especially revenue, falls short; a deficit. Water is the critical deficiency in desert regions.
demerit	A fault or disadvantage. The merits and demerits of these proposals.
disadvantage	Put at a disadvantage hinder harm. This rule clearly disadvantages me.
drawback	A feature that renders something less acceptable; a disadvantage or problem. He pointed out all the drawbacks to my plan.
error	A mistake in matter of law appearing in the proceedings of a court of record. She was quick to point out my errors.
failing	Below acceptable in performance. Pride is a terrible failing.
fallibility	The likelihood of making errors. Studies on the fallibility of memory and perception.
fallible	Capable of making mistakes or being wrong. Everyone is fallible to some degree.
fault	Of a rock formation be broken by a fault or faults. It was John s fault.
faulty	Having or displaying weaknesses. Faulty logic.
flaw	Add a flaw or blemish to make imperfect or defective. The computer game was flawed by poor programming.
flawed	Having a blemish or flaw. A flawed diamond.
gaffe	An unintentional act or remark causing embarrassment to its originator; a blunder. His comments are a major diplomatic gaffe.
imperfect	The imperfect tense. Imperfect mortals.
inaccurate	Not accurate. False or inaccurate descriptions of goods.
inadequacy	Inability to deal with a situation or with life. The inadequacy of unemployment benefits.
incompetence	Inability of a part or organ to function properly. Allegations of professional incompetence.
ineptitude	Lack of skill or ability. The officials displayed remarkable ineptitude.
inexact	Not exact. An inexact description.
insufficiency	A lack of competence. Renal insufficiency.
lacking	Inadequate in amount or degree. There was something lacking in our marriage.
lapse	Pass into a specified state or condition. The girls lapsed into French.
mistake	To make a mistake or be incorrect. He made a bad mistake.
misunderstanding	A failure to understand something correctly. He left the army after a slight misunderstanding with his commanding officer.
mutant	A mutant form. Frequently only a small percentage of the offspring of mutants resemble their parents.
oversight	The action of overseeing something. Effective oversight of the financial reporting process.
shortcoming	A fault or failure to meet a certain standard, typically in a person’s character, a plan, or a system. He is so forthright about his shortcomings it s hard to chastise him.
solecism	A grammatical mistake in speech or writing.
unreliable	Lacking a sense of responsibility. In the early 1950s computers were large and expensive and unreliable.