Defect Is Two Words With Different Stress
A defect is a flaw. The verb, stressed differently, means to abandon one side for another.
A defect is a fault or imperfection. The verb is stressed on the second syllable and means something else entirely: to abandon one's country or party for a rival. Both come from Latin *deficere*, to fail or desert — a defective product has failed, and a defector has deserted.
- A flaw. *A manufacturing defect.*
- To abandon a country or cause. *He defected in 1961.*
- Defective — faulty. *Defective wiring.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | defect | A serious defect. |
| Verb | defect | Defect to the west. |
| Person | defector | A high-profile defector. |
| Adjective | defective | Defective goods. |
| Related | deficient | Deficient in iron. |
How it is used in a sentence
- A birth defect was diagnosed.Medicine.
- She defected to a rival party.Politics.
- Defective and deficient differ.Faulty versus lacking.
Defective, deficient, deficit
- Defective — faulty, not working correctly
- Deficient — lacking something needed
- Deficit — a shortfall in an account
- Deficiency — the state of lacking
- Defection — the act of abandoning a side
From Latin *defectus*, a failure, from *deficere*, to fail or desert, from *de* and *facere*, to do.
Defective or deficient?
Defective means faulty. Deficient means lacking in some necessary quality or quantity.
Where is the stress?
DEE-fect for the noun, de-FECT for the verb. English does this with many noun and verb pairs.