Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for DE-FECT'IVE
DE-FECT'IVE, a. [L. defectivus. See Defect.]
- Wanting either in substance, quantity, or quality, or in any thing necessary; imperfect; as, a defective limb; defective timber; a defective copy or book; a defective account. Defective articulation, in speaking, renders utterance indistinct.
- Wanting in moral qualities; faulty; blamable; not conforming to rectitude or rule; as, a defective character.
- In grammar, a defective noun is one which wants a whole number or a particular case; an indeclinable noun.
- A defective verb, is one which wants some of the tenses.
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