deficiency

UK: /dɪˈfɪʃ^ənsi/ US: /dɪˈfɪʃənsi/ ,(di fish′ən sē)

Inflections of 'deficiency' (n): npl: deficiencies

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

de•fi•cien•cy /dɪˈfɪʃənsi/   n., pl. -cies. 

1. [uncountable] the state or condition of lacking something:
   suffering from vitamin deficiency.
2. something lacking:
   [countable] a patient with a calcium deficiency.
3. something imperfect;
   flaw;
   defect:
   [countable] In spite of its deficiencies, this is basically a very good paper.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

de•fi•cien•cy  (di fish′ən sē), n., pl. -cies. 

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

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

Synonyms

• 1. shortage, inadequacy, paucity, scarcity.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

deficiency / dɪˈfɪʃənsɪ/ noun ( -cies)

1. the state or quality of being deficient
2. a lack or insufficiency; shortage
3. another word for deficit
4. the absence of a gene or a region of a chromosome normally present