defective

[ dih-fek-tiv ]
/ dɪˈfɛk tɪv /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR defective ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

having a defect or flaw; faulty; imperfect: a defective machine.
Psychology. characterized by subnormal intelligence or behavior.
Grammar. (of an inflected word or its inflection) lacking one or more of the inflected forms proper to most words of the same class in the language, as English must, which occurs only in the present tense.

noun

a defective person or thing.

Origin of defective

1375–1425; < Late Latin dēfectīvus, equivalent to dēfectus (see defect) + -īvus -ive; replacing Middle English defectif < Middle French < Late Latin, as above

OTHER WORDS FROM defective

Words nearby defective

defeature, defecate, defect, defectible, defection, defective, defective bacteriophage, defective virus, defective year, defector, defederalize

Words related to defectively

badly, inadequately, insufficiently, crudely, clumsily, awkwardly, poorly, incompetently, meanly, inexpertly, inferiorly, shabbily, unsuccessfully, carelessly, haphazardly, ineffectively, negligently, stupidly, unfavorably, unfortunately

Example sentences from the Web for defectively

British Dictionary definitions for defectively

defective
/ (dɪˈfɛktɪv) /

adjective

having a defect or flaw; imperfect; faulty
(of a person) below the usual standard or level, esp in intelligence
grammar (of a word) lacking the full range of inflections characteristic of its form class, as for example must, which has no past tense

Derived forms of defective

defectively, adverb defectiveness, noun

Medical definitions for defectively

defective
[ dĭ-fĕk′tĭv ]

n.

Having an imperfection or malformation.
Lacking or deficient in some physical or mental function.