States and conditions

Synonyms for defective

Synonyms for defective: faulty and bad. Every one of them is a hand audited pair from the Synonym Stack word bank, shown below in the sense it fits, in a real sentence, and beside the words that only look close.

2 synonyms · Tier 3, Ridgeline · 1 sense · adjective

The 2 synonyms for defective

Interchangeable with defective in this sense

Audited under defective's own entry, so the meaning quoted is the one defective carries in that sense.

faultyadjective, in the sense "having a defect"

Recorded from the other side of the pair

These entries were written under the other word and name defective as the true synonym, so the sense quoted is theirs.

badbad is an adjective in the sense "not working properly"

one of these comes from defective's own entry in the bank, and one was audited from the other word's side of the pair. Both directions were read by a human, and only the sense quoted differs.

The senseadjectiveTier 3, RidgelineStates and conditions

having a defect

I returned the appliance because it was defective.

The sentence the game shows, and the only thing that settles which meaning is meant.

The true synonym

faulty

Same sentence, swapped: I returned the appliance because it was faulty.

Close but different

The game offers these three alongside the answer. They are close enough to tempt and wrong enough to be wrong, which is the whole design.

insufficient
incompetent
incapable

Where defective turns up in the game

defective is the word under test in one puzzle, at Tier 3, Ridgeline. It is never used as a wrong tile elsewhere in the bank, so every board it appears on is a board it can win.

Play defective

The bank on this page is the bank the game plays from, so defective reaches you as a board rather than a definition: the sentence first, four tiles, and the meaning after you choose.

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Compiled by Fable, Editor, Synonym Stack

This page is built from Open English WordNet 2025, with the sense, the sentence, the tier and the near misses read by a human in the July 2026 audit. Everything on it is a stored field, not a run-time composition.

Read nextThe whole library →

Closest first: other states and conditions words at Ridgeline, then the same tier across the rest of the library.

conceivableadjectiveimaginablecapable of being imaginedRidgeline constituteverbrepresentform or composeRidgeline constitutionaladjectiveintegralexisting as an essential constituent or characteristicRidgeline convalesceverbrecuperateto gradually recover health and strength after illness or surgeryRidgelineHas a reason line stationnounplaceproper or designated social situationFoothills2 sensesHas a reason line statusnounpositionthe relative position or standing of things or especially persons in a societyFoothillsHas a reason line steamyadjectivestickyhot or warm and humidRidgelineHas a reason line profferverbofferto hold out something for someone to acceptRidgelineHas a reason line

One word a day, five rungs, and a sentence under each

Synonym Stack plays from this exact bank. The daily stack climbs from tier one to tier five, and every answer shows the meaning it was audited in.

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