as in shortage
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number
there is a deficiency of fresh food in the diet of many of the working poor
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deficiency
What on paper may look like a breakthrough—European governments setting up meetings quickly—is in reality another instance of muddling through problems arising from systemic deficiencies.
—
Sophia Besch, Foreign Affairs, 5 May 2025
These common attacks are caused by security deficiencies, including Active Directory misconfigurations, weak password policies, permissive access rules and weak authentication mechanisms.
—Reuven Aronashvili, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
Due to the amount of sodium in the standard American diet, sodium deficiencies are quite rare.
—Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 7 May 2025
The review analyzes the remaining portions of the building for structural deficiencies and makes conceptual recommendations for addressing these issues, according to a memo from City Manager Rickelle Williams to the commission sent on Monday.
—Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for deficiency
Sophia Besch, Foreign Affairs, 5 May 2025
These common attacks are caused by security deficiencies, including Active Directory misconfigurations, weak password policies, permissive access rules and weak authentication mechanisms.
—Reuven Aronashvili, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
Due to the amount of sodium in the standard American diet, sodium deficiencies are quite rare.
—Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 7 May 2025
The review analyzes the remaining portions of the building for structural deficiencies and makes conceptual recommendations for addressing these issues, according to a memo from City Manager Rickelle Williams to the commission sent on Monday.
—Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for deficiency
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deficiency
Noun
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At least five controllers took 45 days of trauma leave after the incident, leading to a staffing shortage that canceled and delayed more than a thousand flights.—
Pete Muntean,
CNN Money,
19 May 2025
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The Philadelphia air traffic control facility that handles flights at Newark is also experiencing a staffing shortage.—
Megan Cerullo,
CBS News,
19 May 2025
Noun
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After two days exploring Barcelona, Spain, Napton was surprised at the lack of political discourse.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
26 May 2025
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Morehouse graduates applaud the honor Part of the tragedy of Hubert’s lynching was a lack of awareness surrounding his story among Morehouse graduates until only recently, several alumni said.—
Dalia Faheid,
CNN Money,
25 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deficiency.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deficiency. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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