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lacking

/ˈlækɪŋ/
IPA guide

If something's lacking, there's not enough of it. Your new house may be lacking when it comes to comfortable chairs, leading your friends to lounge on the floor instead.

If there's a shortage of something, it's lacking. You might also describe something that's deficient — or not quite good enough — as lacking. If a substitute teacher is lacking in skill when it comes to controlling a rowdy class, he'll be exhausted by the end of his first day on the job. Finally, you can use this word in the sense of "absent": If your older brother's appetite is lacking, he might be coming down with something — usually he can eat an entire pizza on his own.

Definitions of lacking
  1. adjective
    inadequate in amount or degree
    lacking in stamina”
    synonyms: deficient, wanting
    inadequate, unequal
    lacking the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task
  2. adjective
    nonexistent
    “her appetite was lacking
    synonyms: absent, missing, wanting
    nonexistent
    not having existence or being or actuality
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