de|fect

de|fect «noun. DEE fehkt; verb. dih FEHKT», noun, verb.

–n.

1. a fault; blemish; imperfection: »

The hole was a defect in the material. A bad temper was the defect in his nature.

2. lack of something needed for completeness; a falling short: »

A defect in his sense of right and wrong made him steal.

SYNONYM(S): want, deficiency.

–v.i.

to forsake one's own country, group, party, or religion, for another, especially another that is opposed to or different from it: »

After he lost the nomination, he defected to the other party. A top Polish officer has defected to the West and is now hiding in the U.S. (Wall Street Journal).

╂[< Latin dēfectus, -ūs revolt, failure < dēficere; see etym. under deficient (Cf. ↑deficient)]

Synonym Study noun. 1 Defect, flaw, blemish mean an imperfection or fault. Defect, the general word, applies to any imperfection on the surface or in the makeup of a person or thing: »

A hearing aid helps to overcome defects in hearing. No person is without defects.

Flaw applies to a defect in structure, suggesting a crack or break when used literally, a fault in character when used figuratively: »

That bubble is a flaw in the glass. Jealousy is the great flaw in his character.

Blemish applies to an external defect, such as a stain on the surface of some object or a pimple on the skin, and when used figuratively suggests a slight defect: »

His reputation is without blemish.

defect.,

defective.