Meaning & use

faulty

adjective·Everyday

Having a defect or flaw that prevents something from working correctly or as intended.

See it in a sentence

The mechanic found a faulty wire that had been causing the engine to stall at low speed.

We returned the faulty toaster because it kept burning every slice of bread.

A note on using this word

Faulty usually describes machines, wiring, or reasoning; for people's character, 'flawed' is more natural.

Words with a similar meaning

defectiveflawedmalfunctioning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Make it your own

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