lack

[lak] / læk /

NOUN

deficiency, need

Synonyms

STRONGEST

absence dearth inadequacy loss paucity poverty reduction scarcity shortage shortcoming shortfall

STRONG

abridgement curtailment decrease default defect deficit depletion deprivation destitution distress exigency exiguity inferiority insufficiency meagerness miss necessity privation retrenchment scantiness shortness shrinkage shrinking slightness stint want

WEAK

insufficience

Antonyms

STRONGEST

abundance affluence enough excess plenty success sufficiency

STRONG

addition advantage enlargement expansion increase perfection

WEAK

extra lot plethora profusion surplus

VERB

do not have

Synonyms

STRONGEST

need require want

STRONG

minus miss out

WEAK

be deficient in be short of be without have need of hurting for not got too little too late

Antonyms

STRONGEST

dislike have

Usage

What are other ways to say lack? The verb lack means to be without or to have less than a desirable quantity of something: to lack courage, sufficient money, enough members to make a quorum. Need often suggests urgency, stressing the necessity of supplying what is lacking: to need an operation, better food, a match to light the fire. Require, which expresses necessity as strongly as need, occurs most frequently in serious or formal contexts: Your presence at the hearing is required. Successful experimentation requires careful attention to detail.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It can be even more challenging if a family lacks the resources to pay for the luxury of home health aides and assorted helpers.

From MarketWatch

Whitney is not a mountain to be trifled with, and a lot of people lack respect for it and find themselves in dangerous situations.

From Los Angeles Times

But even if such alliances can exist for a short period of time, they tend to break both from the anger and lack of logic that such tensions cause.

From Salon

I am sometimes astounded by people’s lack of empathy.

From MarketWatch

Meatpackers have long turned to immigrants to keep plants running, especially in Midwestern towns lacking enough workers for the often labor-intensive jobs, which typically pay between $20 and $30 an hour.

From The Wall Street Journal

lack

Usage

Example Sentences

Related Words