defect

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“
This defect is also noticeable, but not in the same degree, in his Italian operas.

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Definitions (18)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. noun The lack of something necessary or desirable for completion or perfection; a deficiency: a visual defect.
  2. noun An imperfection that causes inadequacy or failure; a shortcoming. See Synonyms at blemish.
  3. intransitive verb To disown allegiance to one's country and take up residence in another: a Soviet citizen who defected to Israel.
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Examples (50)

  • For that matter this defect is after all secondary so far as the physiognomy of Francis himself is concerned. —  The Project Gutenberg eBook of Life Of St. Francis of Assisi, by Paul Sabatier.
  • General Guderian says of his visit to Ninth Army the ninety Porsche Tigers, which were operating with Model's army, were incapable of close-range fighting since they lacked sufficient ammunition for their guns, and this defect was aggravated by the fact that they possessed no machine gun. —  Panzer Battles
  • This defect was the absence of ACTION of the characters on themselves. —  The George Sand-Gustave Flaubert Letters
  • “Not,” he says, “that I had not really good associates, but somehow it seems not to have been the best and such as I might have had.” Another defect was his not having a skilful and effective private tutor at a time when he felt that he stood specially in need of one. —  Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character
  • Based on electron microscope inspections, engineers concluded the defect was the result of high-cycle fatigue. —  Spaceflight Now
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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

deficiency ·  weakness ·  fault ·  flaw ·  disorder ·  limitation ·  failure ·  injury ·  difficulty ·  peculiarity ·  trait ·  alteration

Used in the same contextWord Family

defect:   defects ·  defected ·  defecting
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Latin dēfectus, failure, want, from past participle of dēficere, to desert, be wanting : dē-, de- + facere, to do; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English defaicte (from Old French defait, defaict, deffait: see defeat, n.), also defect, deffect = Spanish defecto = Portuguese defeito = Italian defetto, difetto = D. G. Danish Swedish defect, from Latin defectus, a failure, lack, from deficere, past participle defectus, fail, lack, orig. transitive, undo (cf. Old French defaire, undo, defeat: see defeat), from de- privative + facere, do. Hence (from Latin deficere) deficit, deficient, etc.
  2. from Latin defectus, past participle of deficere, fail: see defect, n.
 

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/dəˈfɛkt/
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