Meaning & use
faulty
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Not working properly because of a flaw or damage.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a faulty switch; the switch is faulty.
Patterns
- faulty wiring
- a faulty part
The fire was caused by faulty wiring in the attic.
I took the faulty toaster back to the shop for a refund.
A faulty brake light can fail a car inspection.
adjectivecomparable
Containing mistakes or weak points, especially in thinking or planning.
Grammar: Often used for abstract things: faulty logic, faulty assumptions.
Patterns
- faulty logic
- faulty reasoning
His conclusion rests on faulty reasoning.
The report was based on faulty data from an old survey.
Faulty assumptions led the company to expand too fast.
Word forms
| comparative | faultier |
|---|---|
| superlative | faultiest |
Common combinations
- faulty equipment
- The accident was blamed on faulty equipment.
- faulty goods
- Shops must replace faulty goods.
- faulty logic
- The argument collapses because of faulty logic.
- faulty design
- A faulty design made the chair collapse under heavy weight.
- faulty wiring
- Faulty wiring is a common cause of house fires.
Synonyms and how they differ
- defective
- Defective is a slightly more formal word, often used for products that left the factory with a flaw, and faulty is more common in speech.
- broken
- Broken means something no longer works at all, while faulty can work badly or only some of the time.
- flawed
- Flawed fits plans, arguments and people as well as objects, and it implies an imperfection rather than a malfunction.
- unreliable
- Unreliable means you cannot trust it to work every time, not that it is definitely broken.
Opposites
Word family
- fault noun
- a flaw, mistake or weak point; also blame for something
- faultless adjective
- without any mistakes
- faultlessly adverb
- without making any errors
- faultily adverb
- in a flawed or defective way
Commonly confused: faulty or faultless? faulty or fault?
faulty vs faultless
Faultless means perfect, with no faults. Do not mistake it for faulty, which is the opposite idea.
faulty vs fault
Fault is the noun for the flaw or the blame. Faulty is the adjective for something that has a flaw.
Practice
The airline blamed the delay on a ____ sensor in the engine.
Choose one answer.
Faulty means not working correctly because of a defect. Faultless means perfect, which is the opposite of what the sentence needs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “faulty”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.