See Also: defective(dictionary)
Defective(medicine)
defective(dictionary)
Defective(money)
Defective virus(medicine)
Defective Title(money)
defective prophage(medicine)
defective probacteriophage(medicine)
defective phage(medicine)
defective organism(medicine)

defective (iou)



defective adjective & noun. ME.
[Old & mod. French defectif, -ive, or late Latin defectivus, from defect-: see DEFECT noun, -IVE.]
A. adjective.
Having a defect or defects; imperfect, incomplete (in some respect); faulty. ME.
J. Tyndall My defective French pronunciation. G. Greene A defective gutter which emptied itself like a tap.
b. Deficient or lacking in (of). LME.
c. spec. Of a person: having a mental handicap. Also more fully mentally defective. Now offensive. L19.
At fault; guilty of negligence, error, or wrongdoing. LME-L17.
Lacking for completion; missing. arch. L15.
Carlyle I wish you had a Fortunatus hat; it is the only thing defective in your outfit.
Grammar. Lacking one or more of the forms, inflections, or uses normal for the part of speech. L15.
b. noun.
A thing lacking. Only in L15.
A person who is inadequate or handicapped; spec. (more fully mental defective) a person who has a mental handicap. Now offensive. L16.
Grammar. A word lacking one or more of the forms, inflections, or uses normal for the part of speech. L16.
defectively adverb E17.
defectiveness noun E17.