deficient
adjective /dɪˈfɪʃnt/
/dɪˈfɪʃnt/
- deficient (in something) not having enough of something, especially something that is essential
- a diet that is deficient in vitamin A
- Their food is deficient in iron.
- Your diet is deficient in iron.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- prove
- become
- …
- gravely
- sadly
- seriously
- …
- in
- not good enough
- Deaf people are sometimes treated as being mentally deficient.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- prove
- become
- …
- gravely
- sadly
- seriously
- …
- in
Word Originlate 16th cent. (originally in the theological phrase deficient cause, denoting a failure or deficiency that has a particular consequence): from Latin deficient- ‘failing’, from the verb deficere ‘desert or fail’, from de- (expressing reversal) + facere ‘do’.