What does deficiency mean?
Word: Deficiency
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Deficiency means a lack of something that is needed, or not having enough of it.
Synonyms: lack, scarcity, insufficiency
Antonyms: excess, surplus, abundance
How do you spell deficiency?
Syllables: de - fi - cien - cy
Tricky part: The middle is cien, with i before e, and the end is cy. Students double the f or write ancy.
Watch out for: defficiency, deficiancy, defishency
Memory tip: The cien in the middle also turns up in ancient and efficient: an ancient well may have a deficiency of water.
Deficiency in a sentence
Example 1: A deficiency of iron in the diet can make a person feel tired.
Example 2: The doctor told my cousin to play outside in the sun more often to make up for a vitamin D deficiency.
Example 3: The report pointed out a deficiency in the school's fire safety plan.
Fun Fact
Sailors on long voyages once had a deficiency of vitamin C in their food; ships later carried lemons and limes to make up for it.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
d_f_ciency
a) e, i
b) a, i
c) e, e
d) i, i
Show answer
a) e, i. The word starts with de, and fi comes before the cien.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word deficiency as used in the sentence:
There is a deficiency of trained teachers in many village schools.
a) shortage
b) approval
c) schedule
d) increase
Show answer
a) shortage. Too few teachers means a shortage of them.
Spell-o-Spell
One word in this list is misspelt. Choose its meaning:
1. deficiency 2. nutrition 3. vitamin 4. calsium
a) a substance in food needed in small amounts
b) a gap where something needed is missing
c) the food the body needs to grow and stay healthy
d) a mineral that keeps bones and teeth strong
Show answer
d) a mineral that keeps bones and teeth strong. Calsium has an s where the word needs a second c; the other three are spelt correctly.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
Yellow leaves on the mango tree pointed to a ciyenfdiec of nitrogen in the soil.
a) fidelity
b) deficiency
c) dependency
d) decency
Show answer
b) deficiency. Dependency needs a p, decency is too short and has no f, and fidelity needs an l and a t, so the ten letters spell deficiency.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Night blindness is often linked to a deficiency of ____.
a) vitamin A
b) vitamin E
c) vitamin B12
d) vitamin K
Show answer
a) vitamin A
2. A region with a deficiency of rain is likely to suffer ____.
a) a cyclone
b) a drought
c) a flood
d) a snowfall
Show answer
b) a drought
