English noun: deficiency | |||
1. | deficiency (state) the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable | ||
Samples | There is a serious lack of insight into the problem. Water is the critical deficiency in desert regions. For want of a nail the shoe was lost. | ||
Synonyms | lack, want | ||
Broader (hypernym) | demand, need | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | absence, dearth, deficit, famine, mineral deficiency, shortage, shortness, stringency, tightness | ||
2. | deficiency (attribute) lack of an adequate quantity or number | ||
Samples | The inadequacy of unemployment benefits. | ||
Synonyms | inadequacy, insufficiency | ||
Broader (hypernym) | amount | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | deficit, exiguity, leanness, meagerness, meagreness, poorness, scantiness, scantness, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, shortfall, slenderness | ||
Antonyms | adequacy, sufficiency | ||