the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable; "there is a serious lack of insight into the problem"; "water is the critical deficiency in desert regions"; "for want of a nail the shoe was lost"
an antisocial misdeed in violation of the law by a minor
a tendency to be negligent and uncaring; "he inherited his delinquency from his father"; "his derelictions were not really intended as crimes"; "his adolescent protest consisted of willful neglect of all his responsibilities"