Synonyms for defect
Most common
Definitions
- n. 1
A fault or malfunction.
a defect in the ear or eye; a defect in timber or iron; a defect of memory or judgment
- n. 2
The quantity or amount by which anything falls short.
Related words
- Word family
- defectless defective defeat deficiency deficient deficit defection defector
- Phrases
- birth defect bulk defect congenital heart defect volume defect
- Is a kind of
- issue problem quirk trouble
Forms
- Plural
- defects → flaws, faults, shortcomings, deficiencies…
Choose the right word
A defect is the want or lack of something; fault, primarily a failing, is something that fails of an apparent intent or disappoints a natural expectation; thus a sudden dislocation or displacement of geological strata is called a fault.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- fault Tom's actions aren't my fault. Just remember that.
- deficiency AIDS means "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome".
- flaw I have one big flaw: finding flaws in others.
- loss Loss of health is more serious than loss of money.
- bug Sami gave Layla a drink that had a dead bug in it.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| defect | steady | |
| fault | steady | |
| deficiency | falling | |
| flaw | steady | |
| shortcoming | steady | |
| loss | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- mar1, bug1
- 4 letters
- want1, loss1, vice1, slip1, flaw1, blot1
- 5 letters
- fault1, error2, minus2, taint1
- 7 letters
- trouble2, absence2, failing2, default2, stumble2, blemish2, frailty2
- 8 letters
- weakness2, omission3, drawback2, renegade3
- 9 letters
- infirmity4
- 10 letters
- deficiency4, inadequacy5
- 11 letters
- shortcoming3
- 12 letters
- imperfection4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (error2 = 2 syllables).