as in imperfect
having a fault
promptly took the defective microwave oven back to the store for a replacement
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of defective
Despite knowing the product was defective and replicating customers’ explosions in tests, Sunbeam and its parent company, Newell, told the Consumer Product Safety Commission that the product didn’t need to be recalled and that user error was causing the issue.
—
Sponsored Content, The Denver Post, 28 Feb. 2025
If either the hypothalamus or pituitary gland is damaged or defective, estrogen and testosterone levels will drop.
—James Myhre & Dennis Sifris, Md, Verywell Health, 27 Feb. 2025
The toddlers were treated using gene therapy, through which patients are given a harmless virus containing healthy versions of a defective gene in order to remedy the problem.
—David Prosser, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Put side by side with the Chrome extension, MacKeeper’s Safari extension looks defective.
—PCMAG, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defective
Sponsored Content, The Denver Post, 28 Feb. 2025
If either the hypothalamus or pituitary gland is damaged or defective, estrogen and testosterone levels will drop.
—James Myhre & Dennis Sifris, Md, Verywell Health, 27 Feb. 2025
The toddlers were treated using gene therapy, through which patients are given a harmless virus containing healthy versions of a defective gene in order to remedy the problem.
—David Prosser, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Put side by side with the Chrome extension, MacKeeper’s Safari extension looks defective.
—PCMAG, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defective
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defective
Adjective
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Plus, this change can’t come soon enough, with a population of aging Baby Boomers and higher life expectancies adding even more pressure to an imperfect system.—
Don Murray,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
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Such recent works are, in other words, memoirs of ambivalence, in which imperfect narrators don’t overcome impairment but learn to coexist with it, however uneasily.—
Sophia Stewart,
The Atlantic,
18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The Tony Award-winning actor/activist on President Trump’s effort to change how US history — particularly how bad slavery was — is portrayed at the Smithsonian.—
Jade Walker,
CNN Money,
27 Aug. 2025
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The Apparel, Footwear and Textile category fared even worse, with a 33.4 percent detention increase over this period, according to CBP.—
SJ Studio,
Sourcing Journal,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Without that trust, even highly advanced solutions risk falling short, either because the tools themselves are flawed or because employees don’t fully embrace them.—
Luiz Domingos,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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Clooney is certainly game, playing a deeply flawed character who has considerable overlap with his own public persona.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Bogdan killed Gianni in the book and then installed a faulty security system for Tony Curran to get his opening to take him out too.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
28 Aug. 2025
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Studies showed the sinkholes were caused by a faulty drainage system and not by soil conditions, said Dane Thompson, an associate planner for the city, at Monday’s meeting.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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There is a broken down vehicle on I-35 between Antioch Road/Exit 230 and I-635/Exit 231.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
25 Aug. 2025
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Signs of hair breakage include split ends, flyaways, broken strands, dryness, and hair that stops growing at a certain length.—
Audrey Noble,
Vogue,
21 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defective.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defective. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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