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deficient. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
deficient, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
deficient in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
deficient you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From Latin deficiens, present participle of deficere (“to lack, fail, be wanting”); see defect.
Pronunciation
Adjective
deficient (comparative more deficient, superlative most deficient)
- Lacking something essential; often construed with in.
They were deficient in social skills.
- Insufficient or inadequate in amount.
- (mathematics) Of a number n, Having the sum of divisors σ(n)<2n, or, equivalently, the sum of proper divisors (or aliquot sum) s(n)<n.
Derived terms
Translations
lacking something essential
insufficient or inadequate in amount
Noun
deficient (plural deficients)
- A person who is deficient.
2004, Steven Noll, James Trent, Mental Retardation in America: A Historical Reader, page 316:This was justified by the rationale that mental deficients, by definition, are not able to succeed in society.
Further reading
- “deficient”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “deficient”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin dēficientem.
Pronunciation
Adjective
deficient m or f (masculine and feminine plural deficients)
- deficient
Further reading
Latin
Verb
dēficient
- third-person plural future active indicative of dēficiō
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French déficient.
Adjective
deficient m or n (feminine singular deficientă, masculine plural deficienți, feminine and neuter plural deficiente)
- deficient
Declension