as in imperfect
having a fault
promptly took the defective microwave oven back to the store for a replacement
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of defective
The first trial in one of the largest U.S. mass torts ever kicks off Monday with 3M defending itself against claims that its Combat Arms earplugs were knowingly defective, harming the hearing of tens of thousands of soldiers.
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Mike Hughlett, Star Tribune, 28 Mar. 2021
The hope is that this approach will provide new olfactory receptor neurons for people whose own have been permanently damaged or defective since birth.
—Emma Young, Discover Magazine, 3 Aug. 2015
Overheated or defective batteries can catch fire or even explode, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2023
Those factories could provide the recyclers with a great deal of defective or excess battery material, particularly in their early years.
—Kellen Browning, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2022
See all Example Sentences for defective 
Mike Hughlett, Star Tribune, 28 Mar. 2021
The hope is that this approach will provide new olfactory receptor neurons for people whose own have been permanently damaged or defective since birth.
—Emma Young, Discover Magazine, 3 Aug. 2015
Overheated or defective batteries can catch fire or even explode, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2023
Those factories could provide the recyclers with a great deal of defective or excess battery material, particularly in their early years.
—Kellen Browning, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2022
See all Example Sentences for defective
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defective
Adjective
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In a partial solar eclipse, the alignment is imperfect, leaving the sun's light to form a crescent shape.Dan Perry, Newsweek, 2 Jan. 2025
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But the surveys in the sky and on the water are also imperfect, so scientists are ramping up the effort to track the whales in other ways – especially in the Southeast, where the whales migrate to give birth this time of year.Emily Jones, NPR, 31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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That wasn't as bad as forecast, especially in areas south of the city, where temperatures rose enough to prevent icing.CBS News, CBS News, 11 Jan. 2025
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Some of them haven't been that bad, and some of them have been egregious.Mike Miller, EW.com, 11 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The idea for the book came to Rybczynski, an emeritus professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, while researching a 2014 article for Architect magazine on Tadao Ando’s dazzling but flawed Dream chair.Geoffrey Montes, Architectural Digest, 1 Jan. 2025
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Eulogies will probably dwell on a humble peanut farmer turned president, a tireless humanitarian, a striving and sometimes flawed man.Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Ford also recalled nearly 50,000 2024-2025 Lincoln Nautilus vehicles over faulty power windows that may fail to detect obstructions, increasing the risk of injury.Anne Marie Lee, CBS News, 1 Jan. 2025
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Human memories can be faulty in the sense that a person remembers things one way, and months later remembers the same memory differently.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Minshew was terrible in 10 appearances and got benched multiple times before suffering a broken collarbone.Vic Tafur, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
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McGregor was set to fight UFC lightweight Michael Chandler in 2024 but was forced out of completion due to a broken toe.Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near defective
Cite this Entry
“Defective.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defective. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.
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