13
unfinished(adjective, slight, poor, small, miserable)
12
incompetent(adjective, weak, poor, low, short)
10
niggardly(adjective, weak, poor, small, common)
10
bad(adjective, quality, weak, poor, false)
10
stingy(adjective, poor, small, insignificant, unimportant)
10
substandard(adjective, weak, rough, poor, awful)
10
weak(adjective, slight, poor, false, small)
9
missing(adjective, poor, short, inadequate, exhausted)
9
rare(adjective, close, light, poor, exceptional)
9
sketchy(adjective, inadequate, bare, incomplete, imperfect)
8
impaired(adjective, poor, false, inferior, inadequate)
8
low(adjective, poor, mediocre, insufficient, reduced)
8
shabby(adjective, weak, slight, poor, small)
8
sparse(adjective, close, light, weak, slight)
8
unsound(adjective, poor, small, insignificant, unimportant)
7
damaged(adjective, bad, poor, inadequate, incomplete)
7
not good
7
partial(adjective, inadequate, incomplete, imperfect, inexact)
7
patchy(adjective, incomplete, inexact, warped, defective)
6
absent
11 years ago|30k views|share |citing 
APASmart Define. (2015). deficient thesaurus. Retrieved September 24, 2026, from https://smartdefine.org/deficient/thesaurus/synonyms
ChicagoSmart Define. 2015. "deficient thesaurus" https://smartdefine.org/deficient/thesaurus/synonyms (accessed September 24, 2026).
HarvardSmart Define 2015, deficient thesaurus, Smart Define, viewed 24 September, 2026, <https://smartdefine.org/deficient/thesaurus/synonyms>.
MLASmart Define. "deficient thesaurus" 13 April 2015. Web. 24 September 2026. <https://smartdefine.org/deficient/thesaurus/synonyms>