deficient
adjective
- inadequate in some respect
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /dɪˈfɪʃənt/
adj
Etymology: From Latin deficiens, present participle of deficere (“to lack, fail, be wanting”); see defect.
- Lacking something essential; often construed with in.
“They were deficient in social skills.”
- Insufficient or inadequate in amount.
“Apothecia lecanoroid; multilocular; each cell containing a single theke; paraphyses deficient.”
- Of a number n, Having the sum of divisors σ(n)<2n, or, equivalently, the sum of proper divisors (or aliquot sum) s(n)<n.
noun
Etymology: From Latin deficiens, present participle of deficere (“to lack, fail, be wanting”); see defect.
- A person who is deficient.
“This was justified by the rationale that mental deficients, by definition, are not able to succeed in society.”