DEFICIENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does deficient mean? 

• DEFICIENT (adjective)
  The adjective DEFICIENT has 3 senses:

1. inadequate in amount or degree

2. of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement

3. falling short of some prescribed norm

  Familiarity information: DEFICIENT used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEFICIENT (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Inadequate in amount or degree

Synonyms:

deficient; lacking; wanting

Context example:

tested and found wanting

Similar:

inadequate; unequal (lacking the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task)

Derivation:

deficiency (lack of an adequate quantity or number)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement

Synonyms:

deficient; insufficient

Context example:

insufficient funds

Similar:

depleted; low (no longer sufficient)

inadequate; jejune; poor; short (of insufficient quantity to meet a need)

lean; skimpy (containing little excess)

light; scant; short (less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so)

shy (short)

Also:

meager; meagerly; meagre; scrimpy; stingy (deficient in amount or quality or extent)

Attribute:

quantity (an adequate or large amount)

Derivation:

deficiency (lack of an adequate quantity or number)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Falling short of some prescribed norm

Synonyms:

deficient; inferior; substandard

Context example:

substandard housing

Similar:

nonstandard (varying from or not adhering to a standard)

Derivation:

deficiency (the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable)

 Context examples 

A cancer vaccine composed of a genetically engineered, replication-deficient type 5 adenovirus carrying the human prostate-specific antigen (PSA), with potential immunostimulating and antineoplastic activities.

(Adenovirus-PSA Prostate Cancer Vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)

An autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease characterized by deficient activity of the enzyme alpha-D-mannosidase.

(Alpha-Mannosidosis, NCI Thesaurus)

An autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease characterized by a deficient activity of the enzyme beta-mannosidase.

(Beta-Mannosidosis, NCI Thesaurus)

Upon oral administration, carglumic acid can replace NAG in NAGS deficient patients and activates CPS 1, which prevents hyperammonaemia.

(Carglumic Acid, NCI Thesaurus)

Autologous dendritic cells (DCs) transduced with the replication-deficient adenoviral vector Ad5F53 encoding the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) transmembrane latent membrane proteins 1 and 2 (LMP1/LMP2) with potential immunostimulatory activity.

(Ad5F35-LMP1/LMP2-Transduced Autologous Dendritic Cells, NCI Thesaurus)

Women in the mildly deficient range had a smaller, statistically insignificant increase in the time it took to conceive.

(Iodine deficiency may reduce pregnancy chances, National Institutes of Health)

Murray was asked whether it might be possible to shield close family members from tuberculosis by giving them vitamin A supplements if they are found to be deficient.

(Vitamin A Supplement May Thwart Tuberculosis Infection, Jessica Berman/VOA)

They linked the hearing loss in the FOXO3-deficient mice with outer hair cell loss and structural damage.

(Protein involved in hearing loss recovery, NIH)

Consumption of Vitamin D supplements can increase a person's calcium and phosphate levels even if they remain Vitamin D deficient.

(Low Magnesium Levels Make Vitamin D Ineffective, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Cell line established from Chinese hamster ovary cells; used for the isolation of nutritionally deficient mutants and in transfection studies.

(CHO Cells, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)