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lack

[lak] / læk /




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.

West's lawyers have argued An did not object at any point, nor express a lack of consent to participate or attempt to leave the performance.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

The core issue facing U.S. railroads today is not a lack of innovation; it is a lack of regulatory adaptability.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026

"In Switzerland, we can find engineers to design, work and assemble the machines, but we lack the expertise to test and calibrate them," Bonvin told AFP.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

“I’m not, for lack of a better way of saying it, dying for it to happen, but I’d just like to find some way to communicate to everyone on either side that everything’s fine.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

She accused the “conceited” doctors of a lack of common sense.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock




Vocabulary lists containing lack


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