as in scar
something that spoils the appearance or completeness of a thing
the statue has a slight defect on the base, so it's being sold at a discount
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Recent Examples of defect
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 1 Feb. 2026
Dextrocardia is a rare congenital (present at birth) heart defect in which the heart is positioned on the right side of the chest instead of its normal position on the left side.
—Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 1 Feb. 2026
Reuters, NBC news, 18 Jan. 2026
Ben Taleblu said the key factor is whether segments of the security forces defect, refuse orders or fragment.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 10 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for defect
Noun
Other defects ranged from below-code electrical wiring, lighting, fire protection and egress to stairs, sprinklers, fire caulking and emergency lighting.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 1 Feb. 2026
Dextrocardia is a rare congenital (present at birth) heart defect in which the heart is positioned on the right side of the chest instead of its normal position on the left side.
—Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 1 Feb. 2026
Verb
The government had called on SDF fighters — most of whom are from Arab tribes — to defect.
—Reuters, NBC news, 18 Jan. 2026
Ben Taleblu said the key factor is whether segments of the security forces defect, refuse orders or fragment.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 10 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for defect
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defect
Noun
-
In Jaws, there’s a scene in which Chief Brody, oceanographer Hooper, and shark hunter Quint are comparing scars.—
JD Barker,
Rolling Stone,
9 Feb. 2026
-
As the children arrived at their foster homes, some of them in pairs, many had scratches, red marks, scars, and old bruises on various parts of their bodies.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Singh, whose father emigrated from Punjab, in India, is married to a woman with roots in China’s Chaoshan region.—
Jeff Chu,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Robles emigrated to Dallas from his native El Salvador in 1988.—
Imelda García,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
With the proper equipment, the sun spots will appear as a small black blotch close to the center of the solar disk, positioned a little above the sun’s equator.—
Mary Wasson,
Austin American Statesman,
5 Feb. 2026
-
With the proper equipment, AR4366 will appear as a small black blotch close to the center of the solar disk, positioned a little above the sun's equator.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Christmas period will also mark the official end of the Catholic Church’s jubilee year, 12 months dedicated to pilgrimage, spiritual renewal and forgiveness which takes place every 25 years.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
25 Dec. 2025
-
Advertisement Travel to the country once limited essentially to pilgrimage and business travel, opened with a tourist e-visa in 2019 and has since become an engine of jobs and investment.—
Ali Shihabi,
Time,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
When a vehicle loses power, however, electronic doors go from an inconvenience to a potentially lethal design fault.—
Adam Ismail,
The Drive,
5 Feb. 2026
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When the tectonic plates began to pull apart millions of years later, those ancient faults at their edges reawakened, reincarnated as transform faults.—
Evan Howell,
Scientific American,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The offer applies to river, ocean, and expedition voyages worldwide, including popular routes through Europe, the Mediterranean, Asia, and the Great Lakes.—
Paris Wilson,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Reaching about 4,700 miles beyond the lunar farside, the crew will go the farthest from Earth any humans have ever voyaged, ensuring not only rigorous system checks but also breathtaking views of our home planet—and, of course, the moon.—
Lee Billings,
Scientific American,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Ancient mosaics have been restored into laughable deformities of their previous selves.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
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The body tries to repair the damage, but healing is often slow and incomplete, leaving the bone weakened and vulnerable to collapse or deformity — changes that can lead to lasting hip problems.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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One of our editors put biking gear to the test by trekking over 40 miles in a day.—
Kayla Hayempour,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Lane has worked her way through more than 50 countries across all seven continents, trying everything from snowshoeing in Antarctica to glacier trekking in the French Alps.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defect. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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