What does "defective" mean?
A person or thing considered to be defective.
Defective
adj, adv, noun
adj, adv, noun ·3 syllables ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person or thing considered to be defective.
- Grammar: defective is listed as adj, adv, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: faulty, aberrant, abroad, adrift.
- Useful contrasts: faultless, flawless, holy.
- Usage evidence: They replaced the defective TV with a new one.
How to use "defective"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "defective" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "defective" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "defective" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "defective" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "defective" is acting as adj, adv, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "faulty" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "defective", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 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."
- 2 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."
Adjective
- 1 Having one or more defects.
"It is likely that the long evolutionary trajectory of Mycoplasma went from a reductive autotroph to oxidative heterotroph to a cell-wall–defective degenerate parasite. This evolutionary trajectory assumes the simplicity to complexity route of biogenesis, a point of view that is not universally accepted."
- 2 Lacking some forms; e.g., having only one tense or being usable only in the third person.
- 3 Having a root whose final consonant is weak (ي, و, or ء). Arabic
- 4 Not capable of representing all the phonemic distinctions of a language it is used to write.
- 5 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.
Adjective
- 1 not working properly wordnet
- 2 markedly subnormal in structure or function or intelligence or behavior wordnet
- 3 having a defect wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Without matres lectionis (letters indicating vowels) written out. not-comparable
"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."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"They replaced the defective TV with a new one."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "defective"?
Common synonyms include: faulty, aberrant, abroad, adrift, adulterated, all abroad.
How do you use "defective" in a sentence?
They replaced the defective TV with a new one.
Etymology
From Middle English defectif, defective, from Old French defectif, from Late Latin dēfectīvus.