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

Need another word that means the same as “deficient”? Find 22 synonyms and 30 related words for “deficient” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Deficient” are: insufficient, lacking, wanting, inferior, substandard, defective, inadequate, limited, poor, scant, faulty, flawed, imperfect, impaired, shoddy, scrappy, sketchy, weak, unsound, second-rate, shabby, incomplete

Deficient as an Adjective

Definitions of "Deficient" as an adjective

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

• Inadequate in amount or degree.
• Having mental disabilities.
• Not having enough of a specified quality or ingredient.
• Insufficient or inadequate.
• Of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement.
• Falling short of some prescribed norm.

Synonyms of "Deficient" as an adjective (22 Words)

defective	Markedly subnormal in structure or function or intelligence or behavior. I returned the appliance because it was defective.
faulty	(of reasoning and other mental processes) mistaken or misleading because of flaws. Faulty logic.
flawed	Having a blemish or flaw. A flawed diamond.
impaired	Diminished in strength, quality, or utility. Impaired driving charges.
imperfect	(of a tense) denoting a past action in progress but not completed at the time in question. Drainage here is imperfect.
inadequate	Of insufficient quantity to meet a need. A sad solitary inadequate man.
incomplete	Not yet finished. The analysis remains incomplete.
inferior	Of low or inferior quality. Inferior goods.
insufficient	Of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement. There was insufficient evidence to convict him.
lacking	(of a quality) absent. There was something lacking in our marriage.
limited	Not unlimited. I think he is a very limited man.
poor	Lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society. The country had a poor economy.
scant	Barely amounting to a specified number or quantity. She weighed a scant two pounds.
scrappy	Full of fighting spirit. He had a scrappy New York temperament.
second-rate	Moderate to inferior in quality.
shabby	Mean and unworthy and despicable. A shabby fellow in slippers and an undershirt.
shoddy	Cheap and shoddy Judith Crist. A shoddy misuse of the honours system.
sketchy	(of a picture) resembling a sketch; consisting of outline without much detail. Once the story does come out the fact that you tried to hide it will seem sketchy.
substandard	Below the usual or required standard. Substandard spellings.
unsound	Physically unsound or diseased. An unsound foundation.
wanting	Inadequate in amount or degree. The English batting technique has been found wanting.
weak	Relating to or denoting the weakest of the known kinds of force between particles which acts only at distances less than about 10 cm is very much weaker than the electromagnetic and the strong interactions and conserves neither strangeness parity nor isospin. A weak plot.

Usage Examples of "Deficient" as an adjective

• The documentary evidence is deficient.
• Deficient in common sense.
• A deficient education.
• This diet is deficient in vitamin B.

Associations of "Deficient" (30 Words)

absent	Lost in thought; showing preoccupation. Most pupils were absent from school at least once.
adequacy	The state or quality of being adequate. He questioned the adequacy of the usual sentimental interpretation of the Golden Rule.
cramped	Inhibiting the development of someone or something. Trying to bring children up in cramped high rise apartments.
deficiency	The amount by which something, especially revenue, falls short; a deficit. A budget deficiency of 96 billion.
inadequate	(of a person) unable to deal with a situation or with life. I felt like a fraud inadequate to the task.
incompleteness	The state of being crude and incomplete and imperfect. The study was criticized for incompleteness of data but it stimulated further research.
insufficient	Not enough; inadequate. There was insufficient evidence to convict him.
lacking	Not available or in short supply. Adequate resources are sadly lacking.
limited	Denoting a limited company used after a company name. A limited circle of friends.
meager	Deficient in amount or quality or extent. Meager resources.
meagerly	To a meager degree or in a meager manner. These voices are meagerly represented at the conference.
measly	Contemptibly small in amount. A measly tip.
minus	On the negative side or lower end of a scale. Minus five.
paucity	An insufficient quantity or number. A paucity of information.
pittance	A very small or inadequate amount of money. He paid his workers a pittance.
rare	Not widely distributed. Total eclipses are rare events.
rarely	Not often. The rarely fine Sheraton bookcase.
rareness	Noteworthy scarcity.
rarity	Something unusual — perhaps worthy of collecting. The rarity of the condition.
scant	Limit in quality or quantity. A scant cup of sugar.
scanty	Short underpants for women or children (usually used in the plural. They paid whatever they could out of their scanty wages to their families.
scarce	Scarcely. Would have scarce arrived before she would have found some excuse to leave.
short	Of a broker position in the market etc buying or based on short stocks or other securities or commodities. Money is short.
sometimes	Occasionally, rather than all of the time. Sometimes I want to do things on my own.
sparse	Not dense. Trees were sparse.
subsist	Remain in force or effect. The court may treat a contract as still subsisting.
substandard	Falling short of some prescribed norm. Substandard spellings.
undermanned	Inadequate in number of workers or assistants etc.
undersized	Of less than the usual size. The undersized cubs may not survive the winter.
wanting	Inadequate in amount or degree. Tested and found wanting.