# defective

> English word · Adjective · IPA /dɪˈfɛktɪv/ · frequency rank #13,494

## Definitions
1. Having one or more defects.
2. Lacking some forms; e.g., having only one tense or being usable only in the third person.
3. Having a root whose final consonant is weak (ي, و, or ء).
4. Not capable of representing all the phonemic distinctions of a language it is used to write.
5. Spelled without matres lectionis, for example אמץ (ómets, “courage”) as opposed to the plene spelling אומץ where the letter vav ⟨ו⟩ indicates the vowel o.

## Etymology
From Middle English defectif, defective, from Old French defectif, from Late Latin dēfectīvus.

## Easily confused with
- **defensive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/defective-vs-defensive)
- **detective** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/defective-vs-detective)
- **directive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/defective-vs-directive)
- **deceptive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deceptive-vs-defective)
- **defection** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/defection-vs-defective)
- **deductive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deductive-vs-defective)

## Common misspellings (13)
`ddefective`, `deefctive`, `defcetive`, `defecctive`, `defecitve`, `defectiev`, `defectivve`, `defecttive`, `defectvie`, `defetcive`, `deffective`, `dfeective`, `edfective`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/defective