defective

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defective

/dɪˈfɛktɪv/ UK

Rhymes with -ɛktɪv

Where it comes from

From Middle English defectif, defective, from Old French defectif, from Late Latin dēfectīvus.

adjective more defective · most defective

Having one or more defects. If the workmanship is defective, they'll replace the shoes with a new pair.
Similar: faulty · Opposite: complete, perfect, undefective
of a lexeme Lacking some forms; e.g., having only one tense or being usable only in the third person.
Arabic, of a verb Having a root whose final consonant is weak (ي, و, or ء).
of a script Not capable of representing all the phonemic distinctions of a language it is used to write.
of abjad script Spelled without matres lectionis, for example אמץ (ómets, “courage”) as opposed to the plene spelling אומץ where the letter vav ⟨ו⟩ indicates the vowel o.
Opposite: plene

adverb

not comparable, of abjad script Without matres lectionis (letters indicating vowels) written out. For the sake of comparison, note the distribution of these spellings in some other Hebrew sources: in the MT the vowel o after the first consonant of the root is written defective in approximately 3,600 cases as against 850 cases of plene spelling.
Opposite: plene

noun defectives

A person or thing considered to be defective. It is an offence, subject to the exception mentioned in this section, for a person to procure a woman who is a defective to have unlawful sexual intercourse in any part of the world.
of abjad script A word written without matres lectionis (letters indicating vowels). Thus, in the Pentateuch and in the earlier prophets the plenes are counted, whilst in the later prophets the defectives are enumerated.
Opposite: plene

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: faulty, malfunctioning, bad, nonfunctional, imperfect, abnormal, defect, fault, flawed, dysfunctional, failed, unsafe, inadequate, deficient, unsatisfactory, insufficient

Translations

Every language

adj having one or more defects

Español	defectuoso
Português	defeituoso
Français	défectueux
Deutsch	fehlerhaft, defekt
Italiano	difettoso
Ελληνικά	ελαττωματικός elattomatikós
Română	defect, defectuos
Русский	дефе́ктный deféktnyj, повреждённый povreždjónnyj, неиспра́вный neisprávnyj
العربية	معيب maʕīb
עברית	פגום pagum

adj having only some forms

Español	defectivo
Português	defectivo
Français	défectif
Deutsch	mangelhaft, unvollständig
Italiano	difettivo
Ελληνικά	ελλειπτικός elleiptikós
Română	defectiv
Русский	дефекти́вный defektívnyj
עברית	חָסֵר khasér

adj having a weak final consonant

العربية	نَاقِص nāqiṣ

adj spelled without matres lectionis

עברית	חָסֵר khasér

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Cite this

MLA

"defective." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/defective. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

defective. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/defective

Chicago

"defective." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/defective.

BibTeX

@misc{defective_2026,
  title = {defective},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/defective},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}