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Definitions

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.

Department of Justice and a lack of action by judges in the Central District of California.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

The lack of a timely handshake wasn’t Auriemma’s only complaint Friday.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

But in many indigenous settlements on the outskirts, roads are potholed, classrooms overcrowded, clinics understaffed, electricity unreliable and residents lack secure land titles.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

That meant the lack of complete BLS records in February reflected an especially hard hit to the overall projections.

From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026

He had never married—not here, which wasn’t unusual because of the lack of women, but he hadn’t gone back to China for a wife either.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.