DEFICIENCY

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Lack of an adequate quantity or number

Example:

the inadequacy of unemployment benefits

Synonyms:

deficiency; inadequacy; insufficiency

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("deficiency" is a kind of...):

amount (the relative magnitude of something with reference to a criterion)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "deficiency"):

exiguity; leanness; meagerness; meagreness; poorness; scantiness; scantness (the quality of being meager)

deficit; shortage; shortfall (the property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required)

scarceness; scarcity (a small and inadequate amount)

slenderness (the quality of being slight or inadequate)

Derivation:

deficient (inadequate in amount or degree)

deficient (of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The state of needing something that is absent or unavailable

Example:

for want of a nail the shoe was lost

Synonyms:

deficiency; lack; want

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("deficiency" is a kind of...):

demand; need (a condition requiring relief)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "deficiency"):

absence (the state of being absent)

dearth; famine; shortage (an acute insufficiency)

deficit (a deficiency or failure in neurological or mental functioning)

mineral deficiency (lack of a mineral micronutrient that is essential for normal nutrition or metabolism)

shortness (the condition of being short of something)

stringency; tightness (a state occasioned by scarcity of money and a shortage of credit)

Derivation:

deficient (falling short of some prescribed norm)

Credits

Context examples:

A genetic disorder characterized by deficiency of the enzyme short-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase that metabolizes short-chain fatty acids.

(Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase, Short-Chain Deficiency, NCI Thesaurus)

A genetic disorder characterized by deficiency of the enzyme medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase that metabolizes medium-chain fatty acids.

(Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase, Medium-Chain Deficiency, NCI Thesaurus)

A genetic disorder characterized by deficiency of the enzyme long-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase that metabolizes long-chain fatty acids.

(Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase, Long-Chain Deficiency, NCI Thesaurus)

Mutations in this gene are associated with alpha-2-macroglobulin deficiency and susceptibility to Alzheimer disease.

(A2M wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

Although it is unclear whether zinc deficiency contributes to autism, scientists have now defined in detail a possible mechanistic link.

(Zinc Deficiency during Pregnancy Linked to Autism in Babies, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

In recent years, in clinical settings people recognize that many patients who have a heart attack will have a deficiency of D-3.

(Vitamin D-3 Could 'Reverse' Damage to Heart, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

In this regard, the focus of this research has been to assess a therapeutic option that is effective for severe cases of deficiencies in CoQ10.

(A new pharmacological therapy against a severe kind of deficiency in Coenzyme Q10, University of Granada)

Deficiencies can lead to anemia, a condition in which the blood can’t supply enough oxygen to bodily tissues, causing fatigue and other symptoms.

(Iron Supplements Hasten Recovery in Blood Donors, NIH)

Because her physicians suspected she might have a primary immune deficiency — a genetic abnormality affecting her immune system — they performed a genetic analysis.

(Scientists discover rare genetic susceptibility to common cold, National Institutes of Health)

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to heart disease and type 2 diabetes.