as in imperfect
having a fault
promptly took the defective microwave oven back to the store for a replacement
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of defective
People with too few or defective Treg cells often develop autoimmune diseases, where unchecked immune cells mistakenly attack the body’s own tissues or organs.
—
Mitzi Nagarkatti, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
Consumers can return defective products to the retailer of purchase for a full refund.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025
Once the best-selling EV in GM’s lineup, the Bolt suffered several setbacks, such as several rounds of recalls for defective battery technology with a high chance of bursting into flames.
—Jackie Charniga, Freep.com, 9 Oct. 2025
The recall number for the faulty seat belts is 283 and the number for the defective charging port door is 282.
—Greta Cross, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defective
Mitzi Nagarkatti, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
Consumers can return defective products to the retailer of purchase for a full refund.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025
Once the best-selling EV in GM’s lineup, the Bolt suffered several setbacks, such as several rounds of recalls for defective battery technology with a high chance of bursting into flames.
—Jackie Charniga, Freep.com, 9 Oct. 2025
The recall number for the faulty seat belts is 283 and the number for the defective charging port door is 282.
—Greta Cross, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defective
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defective
Adjective
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Yes, Deadbeat is a notable sonic shift from Tame Impala’s core sound, and, yes, the album is imperfect.—
Eric Renner Brown,
Billboard,
28 Oct. 2025
-
The Commodores will be fully expecting to win, uplifted even further by an imperfect victory.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
FarmVille wasn’t bad, but something was missing.—
Moisés Naím,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
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The asteroid impact triggered one of the planet's worst mass-extinction events, wiping out all dinosaurs but birds.—
DINO GRANDONI THE WASHINGTON POST,
Arkansas Online,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Alex Spors said his sister's case illustrates the system is flawed.—
Hope Karnopp,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
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But Brazil were fundamentally flawed, only keeping one clean sheet, against minnows New Zealand.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Conceptions of world geography at the time were faulty to an almost absurd extent, Bergreen said.—
Lee Habeeb,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
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Past outages on this scale have been caused by a wide variety of errors, including faulty updates, the accidental injection of bad code, or a change to third-party software that doesn’t play nicely with a service.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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After the shaking stops, expect aftershocks and avoid damaged buildings.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
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Surgeons operated on the boy, removing the magnets and damaged sections of his intestines.—
Sophia Compton,
FOXNews.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Additionally, nearly nine in 10 singles said being handy is attractive and think leaving small DIY projects dangling or broken fixtures untreated is a turnoff.—
Essence,
Essence,
23 Oct. 2025
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Attempts are already underway to deny accountability and reassert the same broken playbook of impunity.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defective.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defective. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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