DEFECTIVELY Synonyms: 32 Similar and Opposite Words

defectively

adverb

as in imperfectly

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Recent Examples of defectively The jury found that the formula was defectively designed, that Abbott failed to adequately warn about the dangers and risks of the formula and that Abbott was negligent. — Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026 Lawyers for Garg’s family argued that the Boeing plane involved in the crash was defectively designed and alleged the company did not warn passengers about the safety concerns, according to Reuters. — Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 13 Nov. 2025 The lawsuit alleged that the 737 MAX plane was defectively designed and that Boeing failed to warn passengers and the public about its dangers. — Reuters, NBC news, 13 Nov. 2025 In the suit, the plaintiffs claimed HHI defectively designed and manufactured the switchboard in such a manner that wiring connections were not secure, could not be verified as secure, and could lose connection during normal operation. — Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 6 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defectively

Adverb

But the legal system’s binary standard—sane and guilty, or insane and not—fits imperfectly with human intuitions about culpability in tragedies like the Clancys’.

— Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 30 July 2026
What kept her was the counselor who showed up imperfectly but consistently, who was unfinished and stayed anyway.

— Laide Alexander, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Definition of imperfectly

Adverb

Without the federal government as a consistent partner, local efforts are inadequately supported.

— Monitor Reader, Christian Science Monitor, 28 July 2026
Indian troops were deployed to thwart Chinese advances but were reportedly inadequately supplied, underprepared, and overwhelmed.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 July 2026

Definition of inadequately

Adverb

The university determined that Verster was insufficiently transparent because he had been paid through his own company for studies that cited his university affiliation.

— Ashley Okwuosa, STAT, 30 July 2026
Raman has critiqued Inside Safe as too costly and insufficiently transparent.

— Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2026

Definition of insufficiently

Adverb

When planning rules protect views rather than families, something has gone badly wrong.

— Belonging Forum, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Mohammad Taj, who travelled to Delhi from neighboring Haryana state, and whose face was badly bruised in the Monday crackdown, said the march heading to parliament had been peaceful.

— Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 22 July 2026

Definition of badly

Adverb

Many of these compounds’ efficacy and safety remain incompletely and properly evaluated in humans, and continue to be used outside conventional medical frameworks, increasingly marketed with the language of longevity, optimization, and self-care.

— Robert Glatter, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
The original video of that game had been damaged and lost for some time, but then, after many years, it was retrieved and painstakingly restored—incompletely, but just enough to get the gist, as with the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Gnostic gospels.

— David Remnick, New Yorker, 14 June 2026

Definition of incompletely

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“Defectively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defectively. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of defectively

adverb

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