Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

lacking

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of lacking

1 not coming up to an expected measure or meeting a particular need
  • We felt the afternoon television offerings were somewhat lacking in entertainment value.
Synonyms of lacking

deficient, inadequate, insufficient, low, scarce, short, shy, wanting
Words Related to lacking

substandard, unacceptable, unsatisfactory

hand-to-mouth, lean, light, meager (or meagre), poor, scant, scanty, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparse, stingy

bare, minimum

slight, small
Near Antonyms of lacking

abundant, ample, bounteous, bountiful, copious, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful

enlarged, expanded, supplemented

abounding, overflowing, teeming

satisfactory, tolerable

big, considerable, hefty, jumbo, king-size (or king-sized), large, largish, oversize (or oversized), sizable (or sizeable)
Antonyms of lacking

adequate, enough, sufficient
2 not present or in evidence
  • For the moment anyway, wood for the fireplace is lacking.
Synonyms of lacking

absent, missing, nonexistent, wanting
Words Related to lacking

dead, departed, extinct, lost, perished, vanished

defunct, done, expired, finished, lapsed, obsolete, over, passé

inadequate, insufficient, rare, scarce, sparse, uncommon
Near Antonyms of lacking

active, alive, animate, living, thriving

current, going, prevailing, uncanceled

common, prevalent

apparent, conspicuous, evident, obvious, plain
Antonyms of lacking

existent, present

Learn More about lacking

  1. Nglish: Translation of lacking for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of lacking for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up lacking? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games