English Explanatory Dictionary

defective

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Having one or more defects.
  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).
  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.
adv
  1. Without matres lectionis (letters indicating vowels) written out.
noun
  1. A person or thing considered to be defective.
  2. A word written without matres lectionis (letters indicating vowels).

Pronunciation

/dɪˈfɛktɪv/ en-us-defective.ogg

Word forms

defective more defective most defective defectives

Etymology

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

Synonyms

faulty

Antonyms

complete perfect undefective plene

Related words

defect defection defector deficiency deficient deficit

Derived words

defectively defective matrix defectiveness defective number defective on arrival defective verb defectivity immunodefective indefective nondefective phosphodefective
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