deficiently

adverb

as in poorly
in an unsatisfactory way the road to the mountain lodge is so deficiently marked that we had a terrible time finding it

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for deficiently
  1. poorly
  2. badly
  3. bad
Adverb
  • The children did not attend school, were fed poorly and did not receive medical attention even if injured or sick, according to the report.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The treadmill feeling does not necessarily mean a company is using AI poorly.
    — Mark Lewis, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of poorly
Adverb
  • Loop’s status has been a hot-button issue around the team after his badly missed 44-yard field goal in Week 18 against the Pittsburgh Steelers last season kept the Ravens out of the playoffs and accelerated the end of the John Harbaugh era.
    — Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Barely a week goes by without another story about rogue agents or models behaving badly.
    — Don Schuerman, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of badly
Adverb
  • Another would be to coat your thumbs with a bad-tasting substance.
    — Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 30 July 2026
  • Of course, Hole himself isn’t averse to breaking bad, either.
    — Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 23 Mar. 2026
Definition of bad
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

deficient
deficiently
deficit
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Cite this Entry

“Deficiently.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deficiently. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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