as in shortages
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number
there is a deficiency of fresh food in the diet of many of the working poor
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Recent Examples of deficiencies
Rocha also has language deficiencies and has low cognitive functioning, testing with an IQ of 81 as a child, according to Reynolds.
—
Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2025
The team had clear deficiencies going into October.
—Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Certain conditions that affect the brain like depression and dementia have been associated with vitamin B deficiencies, a study done by researchers at the Wayne State University School of Medicine shows.
—Renée Onque, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025
The county is currently defending a long-running class-action case alleging systemic deficiencies in the jails’ health care.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
Perhaps most surprising was Green Bay’s inability to generate pressure against Prescott and its sporadic tackling deficiencies.
—The Athletic Nfl Staff, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
That’s a bad recipe for a CU team that’s yet to solve its deficiencies in the trenches.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2025
People with vitamin A deficiencies may be more vulnerable to gut infections, such as Giardia.
—Laura Schober, Health, 25 Sep. 2025
The report admonishes the Alameda County foster care system for ongoing structural deficiencies, including understaffing and poor record-keeping, while also noting that the agency’s plan to address service gaps may still not be enough to bring it up to standard.
—Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 24 Sep. 2025
Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2025
The team had clear deficiencies going into October.
—Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Certain conditions that affect the brain like depression and dementia have been associated with vitamin B deficiencies, a study done by researchers at the Wayne State University School of Medicine shows.
—Renée Onque, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025
The county is currently defending a long-running class-action case alleging systemic deficiencies in the jails’ health care.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
Perhaps most surprising was Green Bay’s inability to generate pressure against Prescott and its sporadic tackling deficiencies.
—The Athletic Nfl Staff, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
That’s a bad recipe for a CU team that’s yet to solve its deficiencies in the trenches.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2025
People with vitamin A deficiencies may be more vulnerable to gut infections, such as Giardia.
—Laura Schober, Health, 25 Sep. 2025
The report admonishes the Alameda County foster care system for ongoing structural deficiencies, including understaffing and poor record-keeping, while also noting that the agency’s plan to address service gaps may still not be enough to bring it up to standard.
—Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deficiencies
Noun
-
Additionally, the report found that 47% of companies looked to automating or implementing new technologies to address worker shortages, a five percentage point increase from 2024.—
Anna Kleiber,
jsonline.com,
2 Oct. 2025
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Management later confirmed the closures, citing power and gas shortages, as well as insufficient purchase orders.—
Mayu Saini,
Sourcing Journal,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
So Vegas has to hope that their forward depth is strong enough to balance out where their star power lacks, relative to other contenders.—
The Athletic NHL,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
This absence — of God, of love, of plain community spirit — is a metaphor for the whole parish, where everyone is defined by their own lacks and deficiencies, the weaknesses that cause Wicks to despise them and vow to bring down them all.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Yet fortunes have turned more recently, with on-field inadequacies slowly but surely eating into off-field resources.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Debates surrounding its future intensified in the 2000s, as DFW’s ballooning population laid bare the long-term inadequacies of its water reserves.—
Eleanor Dearman
Updated August 15,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deficiencies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deficiencies. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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