deficiency

[ dih-fish-uhn-see ]
/ dɪˈfɪʃ ən si /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR deficiency ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural de·fi·cien·cies.

the state of being deficient; lack; incompleteness; insufficiency.
the amount lacked; a deficit.

Origin of deficiency

1625–35; < Late Latin dēficientia, Latin dēficient- (stem of dēficiēns). See deficient, -ency

OTHER WORDS FROM deficiency

non·de·fi·cien·cy, noun, plural non·de·fi·cien·cies. pre·de·fi·cien·cy, noun, plural pre·de·fi·cien·cies.

Words nearby deficiency

defibrillation, defibrillator, defibrinate, defibrination, deficience, deficiency, deficiency account, deficiency disease, deficiency judgment, deficiency symptom, deficient

Words related to deficiency

flaw, failing, failure, weakness, lack, defect, dearth, glitch, insufficiency, shortcoming, scarcity, shortage, frailty, fault, loss, privation, default, demerit, bug, paucity

Example sentences from the Web for deficiency

British Dictionary definitions for deficiency

deficiency
/ (dɪˈfɪʃənsɪ) /

noun plural -cies

the state or quality of being deficient
a lack or insufficiency; shortage
another word for deficit
biology the absence of a gene or a region of a chromosome normally present

Medical definitions for deficiency

deficiency
[ dĭ-fĭsh′ən-sē ]

n.

A lack or shortage of something essential to health; an insufficiency.