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deficiently

deficiently

6.0
In a way that does not have enough of what is needed
  • adverb
  • /dɪˈfɪʃəntli/
translation icon : deficientemente
  • The report was written deficiently, leaving out crucial information needed for the decision-making process.

Examples

  • This student pointed out a perplexing dilemma: Is the university that accepts "deficiently educated" students from other schools diluting their graduate student pool?

    Academic text (1992)
  • In opposition to a narrative fictional world, we can see the lyric one as a constellation of little lights, deficiently put through.

    Academic text (2006)
  • He assembled the furniture deficiently, resulting in a chair that wobbled and was unsafe to use.

  • The project was deficiently funded, leading to delays and incomplete work by the deadline.

Synonyms

insufficiently
vsdeficiently
9 4.7

In a way that is not enough to meet a need or standard

focuses on lacking an essential part rather than amount alone
inadequately
vsdeficiently
8 4.4

In a way that is not good enough

stresses missing a necessary element rather than just low degree
meagerly
vsdeficiently
  • US
1 6.8

In a small way that is not enough

highlights absence of a needed component, not only small quantity
unsatisfactorily
vsdeficiently
1 5.6

In a way that does not meet what is needed

points to missing required elements rather than just poor fit

Antonyms

83 3.0

In a way that is good enough for the task

How Well

well
1.0
adequately
83 3.0
deficiently
6.0
poorly
283 1.4

Surface Forms

deficiently positive
deficientlier comparative
deficientliest superlative

Morphology

deficiently = deficient (transparent) = deficient + ly

Regular adverbial formation from the adjective 'deficient' using the productive suffix '-ly', so the meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

Deficiently comes from deficient, which goes back to the Latin deficere, meaning 'to fail' or 'to lack'. Think of the English word deficit ('shortage'), which has the same root, so to do something deficiently is to do it in a way that 'lacks' what is needed.