From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdeficientde‧fi‧cient /dɪˈfɪʃənt/ adjective formal1ENOUGH#not containing or having enough of somethingWomen who are dieting can become iron deficient.deficient inpatients who were deficient in vitamin C2GOODnot good enoughOur prisons are our most deficient social service.Examples from the Corpusdeficient• It will shock her, this assumed equivalence with a man so strikingly deficient.• The capacity of the raminboard to accommodate her crew was fearfully deficient...• There is, even yet, a hangover of fear and superstition where the disables or mentally deficient are concerned.• As many as 2 million students leave school with deficientbasic skills.• How would they react to a deficient health care system?• Gospelpreaching will be seriously deficient if this dimension is omitted.• It was a delightful, careless room, untidy and rather deficient in comfortablechairs.• VitaminE is available from so many food sources that no normaldiet could possibly be deficient in it.• The investmentappraisalpublished by the Southern board was deficient in many respects.• Your diet is deficient in vitamins.deficient in• a diet deficient incalciumOrigindeficient(1500-1600)Latindeficiens, present participle of deficere; → DEFECT1