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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of deficient
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.
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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
The reality is, social teams are typically rich in youth and deficient in training and mentorship.
—Stephanie Schafer, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
Maintaining optimal magnesium levels is critical for blood sugar regulation, and having low or deficient magnesium intake can contribute to poor glycemic control.
—Jillian Kubala, Health, 2 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deficient 
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
The reality is, social teams are typically rich in youth and deficient in training and mentorship.
—Stephanie Schafer, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
Maintaining optimal magnesium levels is critical for blood sugar regulation, and having low or deficient magnesium intake can contribute to poor glycemic control.
—Jillian Kubala, Health, 2 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deficient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deficient
Adjective
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This stagnation is partly due to the lengthy delivery times for these facilities, meaning many of the largest projects are still incomplete.Courtney Fingar, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
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City officials have declared the project application was incomplete — which the developer denies — and the issue could become fodder for state intervention or lawsuits.Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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This time difference is unacceptable and the cause of many breaches.Austin Gadient, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
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During Tuesday’s meeting, board members agreed that Morris’ remark was unacceptable.Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Begiristain is being shown up not for signing bad players but for letting the wrong ones leave.Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
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There’s nothing wrong with that New Year’s Eve drone show, or occasional other artistic and creative displays.New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Often, underperformance is rooted in commercial challenges—poor go-to-market capabilities, weak differentiation, inadequate sales talent, lack of a SalesTech infrastructure, or insufficient understanding of market conditions, as the latest CMO Survey has shown.Julian Villanueva, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024
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Deputies discovered numerous cats and dogs living in unsanitary and unsafe conditions, with inadequate food, water and ventilation.Forum News Service, Twin Cities, 10 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In many poor and densely populated neighborhoods across the country, people have access to free, unmetered electricity.Nasser Karimi and Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2024
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That being said, today was a very poor outing as breadth (advancers vs. decliners) was awful in both markets.Brendan Ahern, Forbes, 13 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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If anything, the living conditions seemed to get worse.Chris Quintana, USA TODAY, 13 Dec. 2024
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While working as an advocate for victims of domestic violence herself, she was attacked by someone else’s abuser and her symptoms got worse, particularly trouble with her balance.Marina Kopf, NBC News, 12 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near deficient
Cite this Entry
“Deficient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deficient. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
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