as in scars
something that spoils the appearance or completeness of a thing
the statue has a slight defect on the base, so it's being sold at a discount
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Recent Examples of defects
Robert Ferris,lora Kolodny, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2026
She was born with multiple complex heart defects.
—Erin Jones, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
Thermal runaway can be triggered by a variety of conditions, including battery damage, overheating, overcharging, manufacturing defects, exposure to salt water, and external fires.
—New Atlas, 15 Apr. 2026
The company continues to battle new production glitches, including wiring defects on undelivered jets.
—John Pacenti, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Symptoms of Jacobsen syndrome include developmental delays, heart defects and distinctive facial features.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 14 Apr. 2026
The lower-energy emission signal did not originate from the material’s uniform crystal structure, but from small structural defects.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 11 Apr. 2026
Anthropic’s researchers say Mythos Preview was able to detect thousands of high- and critical-severity bugs and software defects, with vulnerabilities identified in most major operating systems and web browsers.
—Kevin Collier, NBC news, 8 Apr. 2026
Inspectors will seek out all sidewalk cracks that are at least half an inch tall or more than an inch wide and all dents and defects that are two inches wide and one inch deep, according to the staff report.
—Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Noun
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has initiated multiple investigations into possible safety defects with Tesla's FSD, after several collisions, including a fatal 2023 crash.
—Robert Ferris,lora Kolodny, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2026
She was born with multiple complex heart defects.
—Erin Jones, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
Thermal runaway can be triggered by a variety of conditions, including battery damage, overheating, overcharging, manufacturing defects, exposure to salt water, and external fires.
—New Atlas, 15 Apr. 2026
The company continues to battle new production glitches, including wiring defects on undelivered jets.
—John Pacenti, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Symptoms of Jacobsen syndrome include developmental delays, heart defects and distinctive facial features.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 14 Apr. 2026
The lower-energy emission signal did not originate from the material’s uniform crystal structure, but from small structural defects.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 11 Apr. 2026
Anthropic’s researchers say Mythos Preview was able to detect thousands of high- and critical-severity bugs and software defects, with vulnerabilities identified in most major operating systems and web browsers.
—Kevin Collier, NBC news, 8 Apr. 2026
Inspectors will seek out all sidewalk cracks that are at least half an inch tall or more than an inch wide and all dents and defects that are two inches wide and one inch deep, according to the staff report.
—Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defects
Noun
-
Mary, meanwhile, walks away with visible scars, although the real healing was all internal.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The Wild core has gotten more mature — hardened by scars from past playoffs.—
Joe Smith,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This was a black one with blotches faintly outlined in pale yellow, a beautiful but deadly looking animal.—
Dr. C. E. Kuschel,
Outdoor Life,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The eggs vary in color—from white to blue to brown—with speckles, blotches, and other markings and are also distinctive in shape.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Through immersive sound, travel, and intimate interviews, Baudelaire journeys from Benin to Haiti and across the Haitian diaspora to uncover the true story of Vodou — a story of resistance, faith, and cultural survival that’s often been distorted by fear and colonial mythmaking.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
21 Apr. 2026
-
When Venus journeys through its home sign, Taurus, its energy is especially strong.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This will mean that the US can produce the B-21 in numbers faster, but any undiscovered faults with the design could cause major headaches down the line.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Apr. 2026
-
While not a precise scientific designation, a megaquake is generally considered a large seismic event placed at an eight or higher on the Richter scale that ruptures along major faults and can trigger further events like tsunamis.—
Connor Sturges,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The group still tours together and has released new music in recent years.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Both the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center and the Unitarian Meeting House host tours regularly, and the Seth Peterson Cottage—about an hour north—is available for overnight stays.—
Amelia Mularz,
Architectural Digest,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Over Your Dead Body knows that sustaining a harmonious union amid petty jealousies, paranoia, and personal flaws is hard; navigating a hostage situation involving desperate sickos and sociopaths is even harder; and maintaining a balance of laughs and gag-reflex tweaking is the hardest of it all.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
24 Apr. 2026
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More than 250 security leaders helped shape the briefing, which argues the challenge is no longer just finding flaws, but deciding which ones actually pose real risk – and fixing them before they can be turned into working exploits.—
Stefanie Schappert,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
And, there's such a thing as guys trips only.—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Plus, the amount of walking that Japan trips require is no joke.—
Elaina Verhoff,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Caleb Lomu’s selection deserves high marks for several reasons that start right there.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
25 Apr. 2026
-
And given all of the drama leading into the event, pretty good marks and a relatively boring draft add up to a win.—
Chad Graff,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defects.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defects. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
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